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Elderly people are defined by the United Nations as those aged 60 years or older.

It is predicted that by 2025, the number of elderly people in the world will reach approximately 2 billion people. There is such a significant increase due to the development of science, advanced medicine, improved quality of human life…so life expectancy also increases.

The proportion of elderly people in Vietnam has been estimated at over 10% in recent years.

However, that does not mean that the incidence of the disease will decrease. The elderly are still at risk for many diseases like other ages.

The following is a list of 10 common diseases in the elderly in order from high to low.

1. Stroke

Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident, occurs slowly or suddenly, causing many complications and severe sequelae.

In the elderly, due to the weakening of the vascular system, the blood supply to the brain decreases, so it is easy to have cerebral infarction, cerebral ischemia.

In the elderly, the walls of the blood vessels are weak and fragile, together with the consequences of high blood pressure (if they have been diagnosed before), so it is easy to cause cerebral hemorrhage.

This is a fairly common and life-threatening disease in the elderly.

To prevent stroke, we should advise grandparents and parents to eat well, to rest properly, to have a low-fat diet; Should do light exercise in the morning, practice nutrition, if necessary, take brain medicine, antihypertensive drugs, …The rate of stroke in the elderly is 21.9%.

3. Hypertension

Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mmHg.

Elderly people with high blood pressure can have it from adulthood, middle age, or from eating a diet high in fat and salt, but most often it’s because of a much atherosclerotic wall, leading to narrowing of the heart. blood pressure vessels.

Elderly people are more likely to have increased diastolic blood pressure than systolic blood pressure.

Hypertension in the elderly should not be underestimated because it can easily lead to serious complications such as stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, etc.The prevalence of hypertension in the elderly is 7.7%.

Heart failure is the result of physical damage or dysfunction of the heart, resulting in the inability of the heart to receive or carry blood to the body.

Heart failure has many types, including left heart failure / right heart failure, systolic heart failure / diastolic heart failure, acute heart failure / chronic heart failure, etc.

There are many causes of heart failure in the elderly such as cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, hypertension, arrhythmia, coronary artery disease, etc.

The average survival time of the elderly with heart failure ranges from 4.3 to 7.1 years.

The rate of heart failure in the elderly is 2.4%.

7. Parkinson’s disease

This is a common disease in people 65 years of age and older.

The disease is caused by degeneration of some brain tissues, causing symptoms such as shaking hands, slow movements, less flexibility, and stiffness. May be accompanied by a number of symptoms such as cognitive decline, memory loss, seizures, depression, etc.

This is a disease typical of the elderly, the cause and risk factors of the disease have not been found yet.

The disease progressed slowly with a tendency to get worse. In the severe stage, the patient will be severely restricted in movement, unable to speak, unable to move, but lying in one place. Early diagnosis and timely treatment help slow down the progression of the disease, prolonging normal activities for patients.

The rate of Parkinson’s disease in the elderly is 2.1%.

8. Vestibular Syndrome

Vestibular syndrome includes symptoms such as: dizziness, lightheadedness, dizziness, loss of balance, nystagmus, tinnitus, etc.

Elderly people are prone to vestibular syndrome due to lack of blood supply to vestibular organs – cochlea, anemia to the brain, consequences of ear diseases (otitis media, ear trauma, otitis mastoiditis, etc.) ) from the previous period,…

People with vestibular syndrome, if not treated promptly, will be prone to complications such as ear damage that affects hearing, nerve damage (in the case of central vestibular syndrome), trauma due to vestibular disease. fall down,…

The prevalence of vestibular syndrome in the elderly is 2.0%.

9. Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a decrease in bone mass and a decrease in bone quality. Characteristics of osteoporosis in the elderly are: increased bone resorption and decreased bone formation, leading to an increased risk of fracture.

To prevent osteoporosis and limit fracture consequences, the elderly need to add calcium to their diet from calcium-rich food sources such as milk, blood cockles, crabs, snails, etc. or oral calcium supplements (tablets). effervescent calcium, calcium – D, …).

The rate of osteoporosis in the elderly is 1.9%.

10. Acute bronchitis

Acute bronchitis is an acute inflammation of the bronchi, caused by viral, bacterial or parasitic agents.

In the elderly, the immune system is weakened, the respiratory organs reduce antibacterial activity, so they are prone to respiratory diseases. The most common is acute bronchitis.

Symptoms of the disease include coughing, shortness of breath, and expectoration of milky, yellow, and brown sputum depending on the different conditions.

Inadequate treatment will lead to chronic bronchitis, respiratory failure.

The rate of acute bronchitis in the elderly is 1.7%.