Oldest old is the term used for people aged 85 or more. The oldest old are the fastest growing sector of the population in many countries – growing at 3.5% per annum in the United States, while the growth rate of the overall population is just 0.73%. So a study of the health and abilities of the oldest old, the Newcastle 85+ cohort study, is especially timely. Led by researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Leicester, UK, the study looks at a group of around 1,000 people born in 1921 who were registered with general practices in the Newcastle area.

We may think of the oldest old as being frail and disabled – but that is far from the case, according to this study. It is true that rates of chronic disease are high in the oldest old – high blood pressure, arthritis, cancer, dementia and cataract were all common. But, on average, participants had difficulty with only three out of 17 basic activities of daily living – so they were less disabled and more independent than they are usually given credit for. Indeed, one fifth had no problems at all with everyday activities. And only 10% were in non-family care settings.

When it came to health, 40% of the oldest old said it was either excellent or very good compared to others of their age. Only 4% thought their health was poor. Also of interest is that rates of certain age-related diseases were relatively low – that is, heart disease (37%), heart failure (13%) and stroke (25%). This underlines a recent trend – rates of cardiovascular disease have been decreasing and this is reflected in the disease spectrum of the oldest old. However, as the threat of these diseases in the oldest old recede, others become more prominent – dementia in particular. In this study, 7% of the men and 9% of the women had dementia. While this means that, in the future, there will be millions of ‘baby boomers’ with dementia and this will have to be planned for, it also shows that the majority of the oldest old do not have dementia. We have much to learn from the oldest old – particularly the large numbers who rate their health as good and remain independent. Let their example be an inspiration – and let’s hope we can discover, and benefit from, their secrets!

Source:

Collerton J et al Health and disease in 85 year olds: baseline findings from the Newcastle 85+ cohort study British Medical Journal 9^th January 2010;340:86