What Can Help You Beat The Odds?

If you are already 65, or 75, or 85, however, there's a strong possibility that you aren't "ready to go" quite yet. 

• The death rates for Alzheimer's disease have fallen in recent years, but not as dramatically as the death rates for cancer and heart disease. Many experts suppose that the increase in Alzheimer's cases reflects the fact that people are living long enough to develop age-related cognitive decline and dementia. On a personal level, this suggests that if you want to live well in addition to living a long life, you should pay attention to any controllable factors for Alzheimer's disease (staying mentally active, staying socially active, avoiding high-fat diets, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption).
• Influenza and pneumonia are the eighth leading cause of death among all age groups in the US, and seventh leading cause of death in adults over 65. The risk of both conditions can be reduced by vaccination. Flu shots don't eliminate the risk of catching the flu, but they usually reduce it by about 2/3. The vaccination for bacterial pneumonia only has to be taken every 5 years.
• Unintentional injuries cause fewer deaths but greater loss of quality of life after age 65. Simply removing household hazards for falls and trips, and practicing breaking a fall and getting up when you fall down can prolong life and make life much more pleasant.
• Your race and gender are making less of a difference in the quality of care you receive. African-American men made the greatest gains in longevity in the most recent year for which the US Centers for Disease Control has made data public (2012). However, African-American males still have lower life expectancies than any other group in the US except Native Americans.

The increase in lifespans is not limited to the United States, People in nearly every nation on earth are living longer than they did in the twentieth century. In a few places, such as Monaco, Iceland, and Japan, life expectancies for people who have already reached the age of 65 are approaching or have exceeded 90 years, although in a few other countries, notably in sub-Saharan Africa, life expectancies have yet to break 60. Only 100 years ago, most babies born in the US, the UK, or Europe could only be expected to live to be about 50 years of age.

Not everyone, of course, is keen to live longer in old age. 

See Also: Senior Health State By State In The USA

Most elderly people and their caregivers, however, are inclined to keep on muddling through life as long as it will last. At no other time in history have so many human beings live to be so old, so we will all have to figure it out together.