Ticino Welcome - A comprehensive approach to the health of the elderly

Can we start with a presentation of the issues that geriatric medicine mainly deals with?

"Geriatrics is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, diagnosis and treatment of diseases that occur in the elderly. According to the World Health Organization, the age at which one becomes elderly is 65, although today at this age one has a physical and mental fitness similar to that of a 45-year-old 30 years ago. From a scientific point of view, one is elderly when one has an average life expectancy of ten years, and currently statistical surveys identify an average of 85 years as longevity for women and 82-83 for men. As longevity has increased, the share of the elderly population has been steadily growing in all Western countries and today represents an important reality for all the health, economic and social implications it entails."

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