Geriatric Trauma

Abstract

Worldwide, the proportion of elderly people is constantly increasing. The aging of the baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) and longer life spans (the maximum number of years that a human can live) result in a substantial increase in the number and proportion of older adults (whose age is ≥65). The older population is projected to more than double from 40.3 million in 2010 to 83.7 million in 2050 and, by 2050, it is estimated that older adults will represent 20.9% of the US population. In the early twentieth century, the average life expectancy at birth was 47.3 whereas it was 76.9 in 2000. With the increase in life expectancy due to improvement in quality of medical care, additionally, the oldest old age (age ≥ 85) forms a rapidly growing group within the older population. The rapid growth of these populations has many significant impacts on public health, emergency room visits, and economy.