Present and prospective health status of older adults in the Philippines: The role of education

Abstract

The aging of populations pertains to the increase in the proportion of older adults relative to the total population. The fraction of people aged at least 60 years in 1950 was around 8% of the global population, and it has been estimated at 13.9% in 2022 (United Nations Population Division, 2022). This situation is unbound by the level of development as it has been seen across developed and developing economies. Among the factors that influence such a change in population structure is the commensurate increase in the average number of years people live (Sanderson & Scherbov, 2005). Although life expectancy is developing, it is also acknowledged that the health status of people declines with age. Comorbidities become more prevalent at this stage of life, which can contribute to limitations in functioning in different dimensions, namely physical, psychological, and cognitive health (Engberg et al., 2009;Vicerra & Pothisiri, 2020).The Philippines arguably continues to have a younger population, but it is developing toward having an older population structure such that the median age between 1970 and 2010 was 16.7-23.1 years, respectively (Abalos, 2020). The decline in the fertility rate of the country has been slow and therefore continues to steadily increase its population. The mentioned increase in life expectancy has also been a factor in population growth. Among Filipino women, life expectancy increased from about 57 years in 1970 to 73 years in 2010 (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2010).Among their male counterparts, such an increase had been lower whereby it was 54 years in 1970 and 66.9 years in 2010.