[The dependence: the weight and the worry].
Data on the dependency at old ages are scary and sometimes not reliable. However information collected from various industrialized countries confirm that the proportion of the elderly who live in nursing homes is decreasing, except for the ages over 85. In France the average age at entrance into nursing homes increased to 82.3 years in 1998 from 80.2 years in 1976. The trend may be explained at first glance by 4 factors: (i) the family support provided to the very old has not been reduced as previously predicted; (ii) mortality decline at old ages has reduced widowhood and the need for living in nursing homes; (iii) the very poor among the elderly have decreased; (iv) the elderly are today in better health. The current national survey on disability and dependency will provide more accurate data on a phenomenon which undoubtedly will require appropriate answers, as the aging of the French population will soon get an accelerated tempo.
Mormiche
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D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D005602:France; D006304:Health Status; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011203:Poverty; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors