In the United States, the leading causes of death are reducing in numbers. Over the last several years, the biggest causes of death have been heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and accidental injuries. These are things that impact senior citizens at a much higher rate than they impact younger people, and this makes treating them even more difficult. However, the fact that they are decreasing is good news as it is a reflection of advances in health care and senior care.
The rate of deaths from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes has been decreasing for some time actually, but the rate at which they are slowing has gone down. Positive changes are still occurring, but not with the same rapidity as we’ve seen in the past. Also, it needs to be acknowledged that although the rate of deaths from strokes are going down, there are still major repercussions going on within the lives of those that survive a stroke. Many of these survivors become permanently disabled and are in need of senior care of some sort for the rest of their lives. Oftentimes, in-home care is enough, but sometimes more serious monitoring is necessary. This could mean the nursing home or hospital for periods of time, depending upon the needs of the person affected.
When researchers know what the main causes of death for senior citizens are, it becomes easier to plan ahead when contemplating senior care. For example, if your elderly loved one suffers from cardiovascular disease, you know that there is a higher likelihood of suffering a stroke or having a heart attack. Making sure that arrangements can be made easily in the event of an emergency. Having a senior care plan of action already in place well ahead of time is the best way to do this.
When you look at age-standardized results between 1969 and 2013, the number of deaths from these causes decreased from 1,279 per 100,000 people to 730. That’s a 43 percent reduction, which is very exciting news. It’s not a huge amount of time in the grand scheme of things, and it shows a big advance in the quality of care being provided for our elderly. It’s a good thing today because there are so many more seniors than ever before, and as that population grows, we want the best care possible for them. These decreases are indicative that this is happening.
It is important to note that one other major cause of death, COPD, saw no decrease in the rate. This is a big area opportunity for medicine, and hopefully researchers can help reduce deaths here at a similar rate to what these other diseases have seen. This study’s hidden benefit is that it does point out areas like this where there are weaknesses in our current healthcare system. By finding these gaps and correcting them, our elderly loved ones can all live longer and happier lives. For us, we can do our part by knowing what types of senior care will help our loved ones the most given their circumstances and having those services lined up when they are needed.
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