Aging
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF.
- Dr G D Perkin, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK. Telephone 0171 836 1184.
The population of the United Kingdom, recorded as 58.2 million in 1993, is projected to increase to a peak of around 61 to 62 million in 2031.1 2 In 1993, 14.8% of the population were 65 or over, with 3.9% aged 80 or over. By 2031, the percentage aged 65 or over will have risen to 22.9, and by 2051, the percentage aged 80 or over will be 9.2.1 The burden on health care can be calculated, based on the number of dependent people within the population (dependent people, for this purpose, are children under 16, women aged 60 or over, and men aged 65 or over). A dependency ratio is defined as the combined number of children and pensioners for every 100 people of working age. The ratio was 63 in 1992, but is projected to rise to 82 in 2036.1
Neurological disorders which are likely to be influenced by this trend include cerebrovascular disease and dementia. There is continuing debate about the trend of incidence of stroke over the past few decades, with some studies suggesting a decline, others stability, and some an increase. Sequential studies in the Rochester population suggested that by the early 1980s, the apparent decline in …
