There are many ailments that afflict the elderly. Fergus Bescoby investigates the main offenders.
Over a third of all cancers are diagnosed in the elderly with slightly more cases being diagnosed in males than in females.
A quarter of cancers in elderly men are prostate cancers with lung and bowel cancers contributing 17% and 15% of cases in this age group respectively.
Breast (21%), bowel (15%) and lung (15%) cancers are the most common in elderly women.
Parkinson's Disease
The last of our five conditions covered in this article is Parkinson's disease, which can affect people who are (generally) at least sixty years of age, although it can be seen in younger groups too.
It is thought that around one in 500 people are affected by Parkinson's disease, which means there are an estimated 127,000 people in the UK with the condition.
Parkinson's disease is a condition in which part of the brain becomes progressively damaged over many years.
The three main symptoms of Parkinson's disease are:
• tremor (involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body)
• slow movement
• stiff and inflexible muscles
A person with Parkinson's disease can also experience a wide range of other physical and psychological symptoms, including depression, constipation, problems sleeping, loss of sense of smell and memory problems.
Most people with Parkinson's start to develop symptoms when they are over 50, although around one in 20 people with the condition first experience symptoms when they are under 40.
Men are more likely to get Parkinson's disease than women.
There is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease, although treatments are available to help reduce the main symptoms and maintain quality of life for as long as possible.
As the condition progresses, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease can get worse and it can become increasingly difficult to carry out everyday activities without assistance.
Some people respond well to treatment and only experience mild to moderate disability, whereas others eventually become severely disabled.
Parkinson's disease does not directly cause people to die, but the condition can place great strain on the body and can make some people more vulnerable to serious and life-threatening infections.
