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Volume 5: No. 1, January 2008
About This Image
One hundred years ago, this issue of Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
would not have been possible. In 1900, a baby born in the United States
had a mean life expectancy of 47 years (1). During the 20th century,
however, the growth of the older adult population was so rapid that a
new life stage developed with its own set of criteria and
characteristics. The number of adults aged 65 or older has increased
11-fold since 1900, and now 1 in 8 Americans is older than age 65 (2). In
addition, because of the large post World War II population, the number
of 揵aby boomers?older than 65 is expected to double to more than 70
million by 2030 (2). As Guest Editor Jaya Rao notes in her editorial, the growth of this aging population is a public health
triumph, although challenges remain. One critical aspect is caregiving
in families, as discussed in this issue by First Lady Rosalynn Carter,
and chronic disease and mental health issues that offset the quality of
life for the aging population. For our first issue of 2008, PCD explores
this frontier in public health, the older adult population, and our
cover reflects both the inexorable passage of time and the diversity of
expression and experience, like phases of the moon, in each life stage.
References
- A profile of older Americans: 2003. Washington (DC): U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging; 2003. Available
from: http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/general/profile_2003.pdf (accessed December 2, 2007).
- Keeping up with older adults. In: Population profile of the United
States: 2000 (Internet release). Washington (DC): U.S. Census
Bureau; 2000. Available from: http://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/2000/chap18.pdf
(accessed December 2, 2007).
Cover artist: Kristen Immoor
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