Healthy Aging: What Do We Mean, and How Do We Accomplish It?

“It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” This quote, or a variant of it, has been attributed to Adlai Stevenson, Abraham Lincoln, Dr Edward Stieglitz, and others. It is a goal that is central to Geriatric Medicine: the idea of maintaining vitality throughout the life course. But healthy aging is a complex construct, which differs between individuals and between populations and cultures, and also changes over time within an individual. It incorporates concepts that are more traditional to Medicine, such as preventing and treating illness; ideas that are important in Geriatrics, like preserving function, cognition, and quality of life; and values that resonate with older adults, like maintaining a sense of purpose, having meaningful relationships, and being able to live according to one’s values.

Source: Clinics in Geriatric Medicine - August 28, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Susan M. Friedman Tags: Preface Source Type: research