An ageing world of the 21st century: a literature review

Abstract

Aging is the process of growing older at cellular, organ, or whole body level throughout the life span. Furthermore, the term “demographic transition” refers to a shift in fertility and mortality rates leading to changes in population growth rates, and age distribution. Thus, as people globally live longer, increasing levels of chronic illness as well as diminished wellbeing are nominated to become major global health challenges. Subsequently, the global population of elderly is projected to further increase and reach 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050. Moreover, ageing has important implications on social security, the economy, the organization and delivery of health care, caregiver availability and constraints, society, and policies. Thus, it is pertinent to establish comprehensive elderly-friendly health care with further focus on preventive action to maintain a healthy ageing process.