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A normal age in the future How do centenarians live in Germany?
Average life expectancy has risen steadily in Germany over the past decades. More and more people are reaching an extremely old age. At a conference on longevity, scientists from the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin will discuss how life prospects and the care situation of very old people in Germany are shaped.
On the basis of several studies carried out today, the Charité scientists will present the development of the life perspectives of centenarians, their care situation and the resulting effects on the living conditions of the relatives, reports Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The conference "Long-lived - health and participation of a population group with a future" takes place in the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
More and more people reach an age over 100 years. How their life prospects develop and what their medical care situation looks like will be discussed by Charité scientists at a conference on longevity. (Image: athomass / fotolia.com) Over 1,800 centenarians alone in Berlin
According to the Charité, currently "more than 1,800 people in Berlin alone reach the age of 100." In research, however, this predominantly female group of centenarians has so far attracted little attention. And that despite the fact that, according to the experts, it represents "the fastest-growing population group in Germany." In a series of studies, scientists from the Charité Institute of Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science have therefore been examining the life prospects of very old people, from the perspective of the caregivers the relatives and the longevity itself. Three of these studies will be presented today.
Expert carrier at the very edge of the lifespan
The first two studies sponsored by the Center for Quality in Nursing focused on interviews with centenarians and their relatives, according to the Charité. The Head of the Department of Aging Research at the Institute for Medical Sociology, Dr. med. Dagmar Dräger, emphasizes that "the life experience of a whole century, supplemented by many years of experience with health limitations in themselves and others as well as dying and death in social networks, centenarians to special expertise at the very edge of the human life span." On the basis of the questioning of the relatives, the Charité expert also provided an insight into "intergenerational relationships, the supply situation of one hundred year olds and the resulting burdens and needs".
Ethical and social perspectives of longevity
For the third study, funded by the Knappschaft Krankenkasse, the researchers analyzed the health insurance data to obtain information on diagnoses and health care for very elderly people living at home or in care facilities. According to the Charité, the current conference, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, aims to promote an interdisciplinary discourse on ethical and social perspectives on longevity. (Fp)