Demographic Information Some Tidbits-Part I
(1/25/10)- The number of deaths in the United States for 2007 was 2,423,995 (preliminary data). The age-adjusted death rate reached a record low of 760.3 per 100,000 population in 2007.
The death rate is now 43 percent lower than in 1960. The change can be attributed to the ongoing reductions in death rates from major causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and stroke.
Life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years. 72.5 percent of all deaths occurred among those aged 65 and over (1,759,472 deaths), and 29.5 percent occurred at age 85 and over.(NCHS Data Brief, #26, Dec 2009)
(10/22/09)- The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the 85+ age group of the population is the single fastest growing population segment. The number of individuals in this group is expected to reach seven million in 2020, up from four million in 2000. This segment is estimated to reach 21 million by 2050.
Life expectancy has increased from 69.7 years in 1960 to 77.8 years in 2006 and this figure is projected to grow to 78.3 in 2010 and 79.5 in 2020.
Please see our item dated 9/16/09 below for some slightly different figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for individuals aged 65 and over, accounting for 28% of all deaths in this age group. Cancer accounts for 22%, stroke 7%, chronic lower respiratory diseases 6%, Alzheimer's disease 4% and all other causes 33%. (NCHS Data Brief #26, Dec. 2009).
(9/16/09)- The average age of the world's population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The number of people worldwide age 65 and older is estimated at 506 million as of midyear 2008; by 2040, that number will hit 1.3 billion. Thus, in just over 30 years, the proportion of older people will double from 7 percent to 14 percent of the total world population, according to a new report, "An Aging World: 2008."
U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase is due mainly to falling death rates in almost all the leading causes of deaths. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2007 (77.9 years) is nearly three months greater than for children born in 2006 (77.7 years).
Death rates are at a record low in the United States according to the same report. Age-adjusted death rates decreased significantly for 8 of the 15 leading causes of death. The decrease in death rate held across all races and ethnicities, with black males showing the largest decrease- more than 4%. The drop occurred in all age groups except infants under 1 year old, where rates were unchanged.
(9/4/06)- The average age at which people are dying today in the United States is 68.5 for men, and 76.1 for women, according to Arialdi M. Minio of the National Center for Health Statistics. This differs from life expectancy, which estimates how long people born today are expected to live,
(9/18/99)- At birth, the American woman's life expectancy is now 79.1 years and a male's life expectancy is 73.1 years. According to statistics from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation women account for 54% of the Medicare beneficiaries from the age of 65 to 74, and account for 61% of the beneficiaries between the ages of 75 to 84. Women make up over 2/3rds of the nursing home population and 2/3rds of the users of home health care services.
According to statistics from the Older Women's League nearly 7 out of 10 Medicare beneficiaries who live below the Federal poverty level ($7,740 a year in 1996) are women. Seventeen % of the women on Medicare have incomes below this Federal poverty level.
As of 1995, it was estimated that the US population was 48.8% male and 87.4% non-black, with a median age of 34.3 (33.1 for males, 35.4 for females). The median age was up from 28 in 1970. In 1995, 28.9% of the population was under twenty, and 12.7% was age 65 and over, up from 9.8% in 1970. In 1995, about 63% of males and 59% of females 18 years and older were married, contrasting with 74% and 70%, respectively, in 1970. In 1990, about 6.7 million Americans lived in "group quarters" including 1.8 million persons in nursing homes and 1.9 million in college dorms. In 1994 over 1 million Americans were imprisoned.
See Article on Selecting a Nursing Home
For 1994, the crude death rate (total deaths per 1000 population) in the US was 8.8. This compares with a rate of 9.6 for 1950, 9.5 for 1970, 8.8 for 1980, but 8.2 for 1992. Mortality is relatively high during the first years of life; it drops by increasing age groups to a relatively low level until the mid-40s and then begins to climb again.
Males have a higher mortality rate than females at all ages. Thus, as the average age of the population increases, the female/male ratio increases as well.
In 1996, the 10 leading causes of death by disease-specific diagnosis categories (including "symptoms and ill-defined conditions and "all other diseases") were heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and influenza (primarily pneumonia), diabetes mellitus, all other infection and parasitic diseases, human immunodeficiency virus infection and suicide.
See Article on Respiratory Infections
McGinniss and Foege (1990) went beyond the classic list of death associated disease-specific diagnosis to the identification of the major external (non-genetic) factors known to be causally associated with death. They were able to attribute approximately half of all deaths occurring in 1991 to the following 10 risk factors; tobacco use (400,000 deaths), diet and activity (300,000), alcohol use (100,000), microbial agents (90,000), toxic agents (60,000), firearms (35,000), sexual behavior (30,000), motor vehicle use (25,000) and use of "illicit drugs" primarily heroin and cocaine (20,000).
In 1994, the marriage rate stood at 9.1 per 1000 population, down from 10.6 in 1970. The divorce rate, which had been at 5.2 per 1000 population in 1980, was 4.6 in 1994, slightly over 50% of the marriage rate. Even as the marriage rate has dropped in time, the proportion entering in divorce has increased slightly.
In 1995, one in six Americans-41 million people- had a chronic condition needing long-term care services. Of these more than 12 million said they needed assistance to perform activities and were unable to attend school, work or live independently. Eighty (80) percent of them reported that they needed assistance to live at home or in community residential settings. The remaining 20% were residing in institutions. Of the total 12 million who needed assistance, 57% were over 65 years of age, but 5 million (40%) were working-age adults. Children and youth represented 3% (400,000) of those needing long-term care services.
There are about 78 million baby boomers and starting after June 1996, about 10,000 of these boomers will turn 50 years old everyday. Those over the age of 75 years old are in the fastest-growing segment of the US population and by the year 2000 will constitute almost half of the elderly population.
Last year, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the US was 2.32 million (ranges 1.09 to 4.58 million) with approximately 68% women and 32% men (there are more women because of lower mortality rate). At this point, 4.3% of 75-year-olds, 8.5% of all 80 year-olds, 16% of all 85 year-olds and 28% of all 90 year-olds live with Alzheimer’s disease. This places approximately 43% of all people with Alzheimer’s disease between 75 & 85 years of age.
More than 50% of outpatients treated at a dementia clinic exhibit problematic behaviors (aggressiveness, delusions, agitation, anxiety, and depression) and about 20% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease are physically aggressive.
See Demographics Part II-Cancer Statistics Update
See Articles on Alzheimer's Disease
FOR AN INFORMATIVE AND PERSONAL ARTICLE ON PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS WHEN SELECTING A NURSING HOME SEE OUR ARTICLE "Selecting a Nursing Home"
By Harold Rubin, MS, ABD, CRC, Guest Lecturer
updated January 25, 2010
e-mail: hrubin12@nyc.rr.com or rubin@brainlink.com