Thanks to medical advances and the increase in life expectancy, the share of elderly people in the population has been constantly increasing in recent decades. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), those aged 60 or over were 1 billion in 2020, are estimated at 1.4 billion for 2030 and 2.1 billion for 2050. If the age of 65 is considered the beginning of old age according to the MSD Manual website, it is more of a historical legacy than a scientific decision.
Furthermore, several realities are hidden behind aging. The MSD Manual distinguishes between chronological age, based solely on the passage of time, biological agewhich corresponds to bodily changes specific to each individual and psychological age, linked to people’s sensations. Aging is therefore not perceived in the same way by everyone..
Perceived aging: the estimate of the age at which old age begins has been gradually declining for years
At what age do we consider old age? This is the question to which a study of the American Psychology Association published in April 2024 in the journal Psychology of Aging tried to answer, by studying the historical evolution of the perception of old age in middle-aged and older adults. To do this, the scientists analyzed data from more than 14,000 people living in Germany and born between 1911 and 1974. During the study, participants repeatedly answered the question: “At what age would you describe someone one like old?”
The researchers observed that participants born later perceived the onset of old age later than those born earlier. For example, at age 65, people born in 1911 set the start of old age at 71 years, while those born in 1956 estimated it at 74 years on average. This estimate was also pushed back as individuals aged. On average, the scientists found that the perception of the onset of old age moved back about one year for every four to five years of actual aging. “Life expectancy has increased, which could contribute to delaying the onset of old age, and some aspects of health have improved over time, such that people of a certain age who were considered old in the past may not not anymore today“, Markus Wettstein, one of the authors of the study, said in a statement.
Old age: it is not perceived the same way by men and women
However, scientists have noted that this decline in age attributed to the onset of old age has slowed down in recent years. “The trend of delaying old age is not linear and will not necessarily continue into the future“, explained Markus Wettstein.
The researchers also noticed differences in perception of old age between men and women. Indeed, the latter estimated on average that old age began two years later than men, and this difference between men and women has increased over time. Furthermore, people who considered themselves to be no longer alone, less healthy and older thought that old age began earlier than others. Many factors therefore influence the perception of aging.
Reduction in the age of old age: what impact for the elderly?
According to the study scientists, these results could play on the way in which individuals experience their own agingbut also on the perception of older people in general. However, further work is needed to explore the consequences of this decline in the estimated age of old age on older people. “It is unclear to what extent the tendency to delay old age reflects a tendency to have a more positive view of older people and aging, or rather the opposite: perhaps the onset of old age is postponed because people consider old age to be an undesirable state“, conclusively Markus Wettstein.
Sources :
- Postponing old age: Evidence for historical change toward a later perceived onset of old age – Psychology and Aging – avril 2024
- People think ‘old age’ starts later than it used to, study finds – EurekAlert! – 22 avril 2024
- Overview of Aging – MSD Manual
- Mental health and aging – World Health Organization
