Introduction: Older People under the Magnifying Glass - Komp & Aartsen - 2013 - Article

These days, people are getting older and older. Europe is the oldest continent in the world at this moment. According to research, every sixth European is 65 years or older. Scientists also predict that there will even be more older Europeans in the future. They think that every fourth European will be 65 or older in 2050. This will of course have an impact for all the citizens and societies of Europe. For example, shop owners will include more products for seniors in their assortments and public places will have to make their place more accessible to older and handicapped individuals. The finances of countries may also have change. There will be more people on a pension and so the pension schemes might need to restructure their financial basis. An increase of older people will also mean an increase in the long-term care schemes and these might also have to be changed. This change raises many questions and these questions will be answered by the scientific discipline of gerontology.

Gerontology

Gerontology is a scientific discipline that studies human ageing. The study draws from different scientific disciplines like economy, sociology, psychology, epidemiology and of course, biology. The word has its origin in Greek. ‘Geron’ in Greek means old man and ‘gerh’ means growing up or aging. The word refers to being old and also to the process of ageing. The word ‘gerontology’ was first used in the 19th century, but throughout the history, people have been interested in gerontology.

Usually when people think about old age, they think about grey hair, hearing loss, wrinkles, trouble walking and memory loss. However, old 3age is not just a biological phenomenon, it’s also a social one. It is society that influences how people see themselves, how their lives are structures and what opportunities certain groups have. An example of this is the retirement law. This law states that people around 65-67 need to withdraw from paid work. From this age, people are considered to be old. This biological and social understanding of old age went hand in hand for a long time. People around the age of 65 went in retirement and they also experienced health problems. This changed during the last decades. Some people retired earlier, but they remained healthy until an older age. Today, we don’t see the age of 65 as a marker for both retirement and health problems. Consequently, people ask then when old age starts and what its characteristics are.

There are many gerontological discussions that stress the diversity of old age. Some gerontologists state that people become old when they turn 50, others state that people become old once they reach 75 years. Researchers did find a solution for the differences of opinion and that solution is to see old age as a sequence of two separate and distinct periods of life. These periods are called the young-old age and the old-old age or the third age and the fourth age. The third age is a period in which people have a relative freedom and good health. People in this age period don’t have the responsibility for the upbringing of their children and they also don’t have to work. The fourth age is a period in which there is an accelerated decline of mental and physical health. People in this period have also losses in social relationships. Every understanding of old age has its advantages and disadvantages. Also, the usefulness of the understanding depends on the context.

Europe and old age

Europe is a great continent for the study of old age, because it’s the oldest continent in the world. In Europe scientists can encounter many older people and they can also observe how societies change when populations age. Another positive thing about studying old age in Europe, is that Europe is heterogeneous. This means that there are clear visible differences within Europe in how old people are and how people deal with old age. The differences that exist are not only between countries, but also within countries. This means that scientists need to look into between-country differences as well as within-country differences to understand how old age transforms Europe. Before doing this, one needs to know what dimensions population ageing has reached. A description of Europe’s age-profile is needed and it will be discussed in the next part.

As mentioned before, Europe is older than any other region of the world. Northern America is slightly younger than Europe. The youngest continent in the world is Africa. In 2009, the median age in Europe was 40 years. This was 12 years more than the median age in the rest of the world and 21 years more than the median age in Africa. In that same year, every sixth European was in the 65+ age group, which is 16% of the population. In that same year, every 33th African was in the same age group. In 2009, 4% of Europe’s population was in the 80+ age group, but scientists expect that group to get bigger over the next decades.

Scientists have looked at the progression of population ageing in Europe. They figured out that less than 10%of Europeans were aged 65 years or older in 1950. In 2010, this group grew to 16% of the population. Researchers think that the 65+ group might continue to increase to 27% until 2050. That means that in 2050, every fourth European will be aged 65 years or older. If their predictions are correct, then the number of Europeans in that age group will have more than doubled within a century. Scientists have also looked at the rest of the world and they found out that only 5% of the world population was aged 65 years and older in 1950. In 2010, this group grew out to 8% and researchers think it will grow to 16% by 2050. This means that every sixth person in the world would be 65 years or older by then.

The numbers just mentioned describe Europe in its entity, but the basic information also is true for the individual European countries. All European countries are ageing and in every European country the number of older people will get bigger in the future. However, the level of population ageing reached and the speed at which populations age differs across the countries. North and West Europe were the oldest regions in the 1950s and Eastern and Southern Europe were the youngest ones. Population ageing progressed relatively slowly in Northern Europe and relatively quickly in Southern Europe and because of this, the age-gradient within Europe will probably be shifted by 2050. By 2050, the oldest populations in Europe will be in the South and West and the youngest population will be in the North and East.

In Figure 1.2 of the book ‘Old age in Europe’ on page 5, the median age of the population in the individual European countries in 2010 is shown. There are three different median ages in Europe in this figure, low (35 years of below), intermediate (36-40) or high (41 years and older). Note that figure 1.2 is not correct! The text about that figure is correct! Europe has a couple of countries where the median age is below 35 years. These countries include Turkey, Ireland, Iceland, Moldova and Albania. Some of the intermediate countries are the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Portugal and Greece. Some of the countries where the median ages are high include Norway, Spain, Russia, Poland, France and the United Kingdom. Europe is indeed greying, but it is greying in different ways. Countries differ in how fast population aging progresses and in how far it has progressed. Also, when researchers look even deeper, they see that differences also exist within countries, because people within countries do not age homogeneously. Researchers have found some differences between population groups when it comes to how fast population ageing progresses. They found that there are more women than men in the higher age groups and that the population in rural areas ages faster than the population in cities. Factors like migration and local cultures can also cause some of these within-country differences in the population ageing progress.

Characteristics of older Europeans

According to the writers of this text, the older European does not exist. Older Europeans resemble each other to some degree, but there are many differences between them. The variation is to some degree caused by country-characteristics. There are/were many different political constellations in Europe, like the former communistic East and the liberal-democratic West. There are also different religious orientations in Europe, like the mainly catholic South and the mainly protestant North. Variations are also due to differences between the individuals within a country. Individual differences can be caused by gender, marital status, socioeconomic status, living arrangements and religious affiliation. When you take all these possible variations into account, you will see that there is a diverse group of old people in Europe.

One of the biggest differences between older Europeans is their gender. There are about as many women as men in Europe, but this ratio is different in older age groups. There are a bit more women aged 65 years and older in Europe than men. In some countries, this difference is marginal (Iceland and Macedonia), while in others two out of three older people are female (the Ukraine and Latvia). That gender difference results from two factors. The first factor is quite obvious. Women live longer than men do. Because of this, women are over-represented in the older age-groups. The second factor is that mostly men fight as soldiers in wars, so war-related deaths are particularly common among men. Another difference between old Europeans is in their social networks. These are connections with friends and kin. Connections with friends and kin are important for older people, because they enhance their wellbeing and health. Friends and kin are also supportive in times of crisis. These days kinships are looser than in the decades before, but there are differences between countries. In Norway, Sweden and Finland there is extended de-familialization. This means that friends become more important. Also, in these countries and in the Netherlands, the highest levels of memberships of clubs and voluntary work are common. In Eastern Europe and in South Europe, family ties are still very important.

Another big difference between older Europeans is their socio-economic status. The socio-economic status tells us the position a person has in society. This status is determined from wealth, occupation and educational level. The wealth of older Europeans is relatively low in Eastern European countries like Poland and the Ukraine and relatively high in continental European countries, like Belgium and France. The educational level is also higher in Continental Europe and Northern Europe, like Austria and the Netherlands than in Southern Europe, like Spain and Greece. Also, the occupational prestige of older people is higher in Continental and Northern Europe than in Southern Europe.

It seems that in Eastern Europe, the circumstances of aging healthy are the least favourable. In those countries, the level of resources for health care is the lowest and the people from those countries have the highest prevalence of smoking and obesity. By contrast, in Northern and Western Europe, people have the best health care and the lowest level of risk factors for diseases. The highest proportion of obese people in Europe are from Eastern Europe (21%) and the lowest proportion is from Western Europe (18%). Of course, there are variations within the regions. For example, the highest proportion of obese men can be found in the Czech Republic (31%), but the lowest proportion of obese men can also be found in Eastern Europe, in Moldova (10%). Every country has its own progress of aging and in the next section, three countries from Europe will be discussed.

Old people in Italy

After Germany, Italy is the oldest country in Europe. Italy is the third oldest country in the world. Because of this, researchers often look at Italy when they want to know how societies change by aging. They think that studying Italy today will give them information about the things that will happen in other European countries in the next decades. 6% of the Italian population were aged 80+ in the beginning of the 21st century. This is the highest percentage of the European countries. There are a couple of regions in Europe with a high proportion of people aged 80+ living in them and seven of the ten regions can be found in Italy. Italians think, on average, that old age starts at 68 years. This age is one of the highest named in Europe. Old people in Italy have a low level of engagement in productive activities. 37% of Italians aged 55-64 was employed and this is one of the lowest percentages within Europe. Also, older Italians don’t participate a lot in voluntary, political and religious organizations or sports clubs and social clubs. Italians say that this is because the old people want to engage more with their family and they often look after their grandchildren and therefore don’t have much time to do other things. So it’s not that they are less engaged, but they are engaged in a different context than other Europeans.

In Italy, public care services are relatively scarce and it is therefore difficult to organize care provision for older people who need it. The care services also differ across Italy and the family will have to do most of the care work. Italians often hire migrant care workers (called badanti) to support the family carers. Often, the badanti live with the person they are taking care of and they help them with their daily lives. Of course there are certain working- and migration-regulations and the badanti work for a couple of months in Italy and then have to return for several months to their home countries.

Old people in Sweden

Sweden has a great labour market situation for old people. About 70% of Swedish people aged 55-64 worked in a paid job. This is the highest percentage in Europe. Ageing in Sweden has little effect on the pension schemes and labour market. The ageing in Sweden is the European average. However, people in Sweden live longer than averages Europeans do and they also stay healthy until an old age. After reaching the age of 65 years, Swedish people can expect to spend 14 years in good health, on average and then five years in poor health. Swedes perceive old age starting at 67 years. This is relatively late, the European average is 64.

Because of their good health, Swedish old people can be active until a late age. They also tend to do this. Sweden has one of the highest shares of volunteers in the 50 years and older age group. They also are more likely to provide care and health than other older Europeans and because of this, researchers conclude that old people from Sweden are still productive. They engage in different activities to benefit society and their family. However, old Swedish people are less active than most Europeans in religious organizations. The government of Sweden also helps with old people’s productivity by providing health and social services and by providing a good pension scheme. The government also established the right to work until age 67.

Old people in Slovakia

While Italy is one of the oldest countries in Europe, Slovakia is one of the youngest. The median age in 2010 was 37 years. This is 4 years younger than the European average. Slovakia can look to older countries and prepare for what might come when the population ages. In Slovakia, the youthfulness is visible in different ways. People from Slovakia who are 65 years old can expect to live three more years in good health and then 13 years in poor health. This life-expectancy in good health is five years below the European average and eleven years below the one in Sweden. The life-expectancy in Slovakia is also 3 years below the European average. Therefore, you can see older Slovakian less often than in other European countries. Slovakians also have a more youthful understanding of old age than other Europeans. They namely think that old age starts at 58 years. This is six years below the European average and the lowest one named in Europe.

Slovakia has also a distinct living situation. The average Slovakian retired at age 58 in 2009. This is one of the lowest retirement ages in Europe. The mandatory retirement age in Slovakia is 62. Retired Slovakians are less likely to volunteer than other European retired people. The low levels of engagement in work and volunteering might be a result from the early health deterioration in Slovakia. However, older Slovakians are socially integrated despite this low engagement and high health decline. Researchers from Slovakia concluded that social and health care are a central issue in Slovakian old age policies. They also said that the government has been regulating social and health care for older Slovakians throughout the last decades. But they also said that those policies did not always put emphasis on the situation of older Slovakians. Clearly, this has to change.