What is successful ageing and who should define it?

A definition of successful ageing needs to include elements that matter to elderly people The substantial increases in life expectancy at birth achieved over the previous century, combined with medical advances, escalating health and social care costs, and higher expectations for older age, have led to international interest in how to promote a healthier old age and how to age “successfully.” Changing patterns of illness in old age, with morbidity being compressed into fewer years and effective interventions to reduce disability and health risks in later life, make the goal of ageing successfully more realistic. Debate continues about whether disability has been postponed,1 although the Berlin ageing study2…