What happens to our quality of life as we get older

What happens to our quality of life as we get older

As we age, the quality of life decreases, and most people become a burden to others. As one gets older, the range of activities they are capable of also falls. The quality of life is measured by how well we can live without suffering, being a burden to others, and how much fun we can have. But as we get older, having fun disappears, dependency comes in, and a lot more.

Old age is associated with various forms of illness. Some common diseases associated with the elderly include parkinsonism, Alzheimer’s, diabetes type 2, hypertension, osteoporosis, and many more (Van Leeuwen et al., 2019). These diseases occur in combination, and you’ll find one person is managed with more than three conditions at a time. Some of these conditions are painful, such as cancer management; the drugs are toxic and harmful. The body’s system capabilities also decrease, the rate of digestion reduces, and the metabolism of drugs becomes slow, resulting in further accumulation of drugs in the body. As the functionalities of the body system reduce, the body becomes more and more susceptible to infections.

The combination of harmful drugs, pack of conditions, and reduced body organ activities instill more harm in older people. Thus, older people no longer enjoy the quality of life (Ribé et al., 2018). Regular hospitalization and inactivity reduce bone strength, whereas decreased exercise rates still bring more harm. It is reported that the elderly are at risk of various hospital infections, such as pneumonia, due to their reduced immunity. Hospitalization, therefore, continues to worsen their conditions. At home, older people sometimes progress to being a burden to their children, requiring constant monitoring and expensive drugs, with these expenses, in most cases, falling on their family members. In conclusion, the quality of life diminishes with increased age.

References

Van Leeuwen, K. M., Van Loon, M. S., Van Nes, F. A., Bosmans, J. E., De Vet, H. C., Ket, J. C., … & Ostelo, R. W. (2019). What does quality of life mean to older adults? A thematic synthesis. PloS one, 14(3), e0213263.

Ribé, J. M., Salamero, M., Pérez-Testor, C., Mercadal, J., Aguilera, C., & Cleris, M. (2018). Quality of life in family caregivers of schizophrenia patients in Spain: caregiver characteristics, caregiving burden, family functioning, and social and professional support. International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice, 22(1), 25-33.

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