Gender and age

According to the specialists of the Program GenSalud (*), in the next ten years a greater proportion of the population will be considered “old” due to the general aging of world population. A great part of these older people will be women because they have a greater life expectancy. Although women live longer than men, their morbidity is greater and have less access to health care. Therefore, during the next decades, the health needs of older women will become more important.

The definition of “old” varies among countries and societies. This word almost always has negative connotations, related to other terms such as disability or dementia. It is commonly believed that older people should be taken care of, and their opinion is not taken into consideration while developing health policies. This is specially true in the case of older women, where the combination of gender and age can have prejudicial effects on their life quality. The perception of growing old as a mental and physical deterioration is very common among health professionals and the general public. In truth, aging is a complex process that requires research and proposing solutions.

In general, a person is considered “old” when he or she reaches the age of 60-65 years, no matter their clinical history or particular situation (1).

You could be exposed to toxic substances daily and not be aware of it.