Attaching importance to health of elderly population and promoting national healthy ageing actively in China / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

China has entered an aging society since 1999. By the end of 2017, the number of persons aged ≥60 years had increased to 240.90 million. At present, the average life expectancy of China’s population is 76.4 years, and the healthy life expectancy is around 68.7 years, which means that the elderly will be accompanied by disease for about 8 years. The main health problems of the elderly in China include increased prevalence of chronic diseases, increased prevalence of disability, insufficient attention to older persons’ mental health and area specific differences in the health level of the elderly. The disease status of the elderly cannot be ignored. Strengthening the medical services in western and rural areas, emphasizing the psychological and mental concern for the elderly, formulating unified health evaluation criteria, promoting a new model of medical and nursing care combination, establishing an elderly security system with equal responsibilities and rights, jointly managing under the cooperation of whole society and multi-dimensions to protect the health of the elderly are essential to the construction of an active ageing society in China and the realization of the strategic goal of healthy China.