The Silver Book: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation

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The United States is experiencing a longevity revolution and as the baby boomers approach retirement age, they are touching off an age wave that will double the number of Americans over age 65 to more than 70 million. Individual life expectancy is also increasing and the older population is growing much more rapidly than the entire population of the United States. The prevalence of chronic disease within our senior population has already resulted in increased national health care spending, high rates of disability, and much human suffering. The problem, then, only stands to become exponentially worse as our elderly population grows.

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Every day, more than 6,000 Americans celebrate their 65th birthday.
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Alliance for Aging Research. Independence for Older Americans: An investment for our nation's future. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Aging Research. 1999. [ Permalink ]

In 2004, there were an estimated 60,800 centenarians (those age 100 and older) in the United States.
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Hing, Esther and Kimberly Middleton. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2002 outpatient department summary. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 23-Jun-2004. [ Permalink ]

Since 1900, the 65 and older population has doubled 3 times.
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Friedland, Robert B. and Laura Summer. Demography Is Not Destiny, Revisited. Washington, D.C.: Center on an Aging Society, Georgetown University. 2005. [ Permalink ]

During the twentieth century, the population of oldest-old Americans (those age 85 and older) grew from just over 100,000 to 4.2 million.
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National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "New Stroke Treatment Likely to Decrease Health Care Costs and Increase Quality of Life". 21-Apr-1998. [ Permalink ]

There were 36.3 million Americans age 65 and older in 2004, an increase of 3.1 million (9.3%) since 1994.
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About 1 in 8 (12.4%) of the population is an older American.
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From 1950 to 2004, the total U.S. resident population grew from 150 million to 294 million--an annual growth rate of 1%. During that same time, the 65 and older population grew twice as rapidly--increasing from 12 million to 36 million. The 75 and older population grew close to 3% faster than the total population, increasing from 4 million to 18 million.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

Between 1950 and 2004, the U.S. population got older. During that time, the under 18 population fell from 31% to 25% of the total population; while the 55-64 population grew from 9% to 10%, the 65-74 population stayed at about 6%, and the 75 and older population grew from 3% to 6% of the total population.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

In 2004, those age 65-74 made up 6.3% of the population and those age 75 and older made up 6.1% of the population.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

Percent of population in five age groups: United States, 1950, 2004, and 2050
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005: With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. [ Permalink ]

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