INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY
OLDER ADULTS
Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) | Where Knowledge Is Applied and Dreams Realised
The Malaysian population is growing older
Projection of population by age, Malayaia, 2020-2024
2000
1800
Number of Persons ('000)
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
Year
65-69
70-74
75-79
80+
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Older Adults in Malaysia
2.3 mil
65 and
older
7% of
total pop
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DEFINITIONS
How old is old?
• Depends on who measures and how they
define
• Who do children see as old?
• Who do adults see as old?
• Age is and always will be a relative concept
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DEFINITIONS
In many countries, old adults - age of 65 and older
• Aging population - those aged 65 years and above make up
at least 15 percent of the total population
• However, older adults can remain very active and healthy at
age 65 and after
• Subdivide old into
• young old (65–74)
• middle old (75–84)
• old old (85 and over).
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DEFINITIONS
• Many terms have been used to describe individuals who are 65 years
of age and older, including “seniors, senior citizens, golden agers,
retired persons, mature adults, elderly, aged, and old people. “
• The old old group (80+) , that makes up the fastest-growing segment
of the older adult population.
• Malaysia is currently facing the prospect of an aging population, and
the latest statistical data predicted this to be happening as soon as in
2030.
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The proportion of older adults in Malaysia is
increasing
Percentage of population aged 65 and older (2020 - 2040)
16.00%
14.49%
14.00%
12.58%
12.00%
10.73%
10.00%
8.90%
8.00%
7.23%
6.00%
4.00%
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
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MYTHS SURROUNDING AGING
• By market research firm Ipsos Sdn Bhd (Ipsos).
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MYTHS SURROUNDING AGING
• Ageism the result of ignorance, misconceptions, and half-truths
about aging and older adults.
• When you think of older people, who comes to mind?
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MYTHS SURROUNDING AGING
Myth: “old people are unproductive.”
• Truth: most are retired but are most likely to be productive at home and in their
community.
Myth: “Old people are all alike.”
• Truth: There are more differences among elders than any other segment of the
population.
Myth: “Old people are senile.”
• Truth: Cognitive impairments are the result of disease and are not a guaranteed
part of
older adulthood.
Myth: “Most old people are sickly and end up in nursing homes.”
• Truth: Most older people do have at least one chronic health problem, but the
majority
of older adults live active lifestyles.
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DEMOGRAPHY OF AGING
Size and Growth of the Older Adult
Population in Malaysia
• Demography of ageing – a study of those who are 65
and older and of the variables that bring about change
on their lives
• Demographers’ projections suggest that populations
will continue to age, not only in this country, but in
most other countries as well.
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Median age of Malaysian population
• The projected growth of the elder population is expected to raise the
median age of the Malaysian population.
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15
Percentage of old age in Malaysia
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND AGE
Fertility Rate
• Fertility rate – Expression of number of births per 1000 women of
childbearing age (15 – 44)
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – total number of children born or likely to be
born to a woman in her lifetime if she were subject to the prevailing rate
of age-specific fertility in the population. (WHO)
• TFR of 2.1 children per woman is called Replacement Level Fertility
(UN,Population Division)
• This value represents the average number of children a woman would
need to have to reproduce herself by bearing a daughter who survives to
childbearing age.
• If replacement level fertility is sustained over a sufficiently long period,
each generation will exactly replace itself without any need for the
country to balance the population by 'international migration’.
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND
AGE
Fertility Rate
• Total fertility rate (TFR) has been declining for the past 38
years
• The TFR per woman aged 15–49 years has been declining
from 4.9 babies in 1970 to 1.7 babies in 2020.
• TFR for Malaysia has reached below replacement level of
2.1 since 2013 which indicates that the average number of
babies born per woman throughout her reproductive life has
been insufficient to replace herself and her partner.
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND AGE
Mortality or death rate
• Deaths per 100,000 population
• Has an impact on the aging population.
• The decrease in the annual mortality rate achieved over the twentieth
century was the result of triumphs in medical science and public
health practice.
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND
AGE
Life expectancy
• Life expectancy has continued to
increase.
• Increase in life expectancy in the
first half of the twentieth century
could be attributed to the decrease
in infant and early childhood
deaths, the increase in life
expectancy since 1970 can be
traced to the postponement of
death among the middle-aged and
older adult population.
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND AGE
Dependency ratio
• comparison between those individuals whom society considers
economically unproductive (the nonworking or dependent population)
and those it considers economically productive (the working
population).
• Traditionally, the productive (19-64 yrs) and nonproductive (youth 0-19,
old 65+yrs) populations have been defined by age
• When the dependency ratio includes both youth and old, it is referred
to as a total dependency ratio.
• Youth dependency ratio: When only the youth are compared to the
productive group
• Old-age dependency ratio: when only the old are compared, it is called
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND
AGE
Dependency ratio
• Increase in ratio → costs to support youth and old will not be the same
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND
AGE
Dependency ratio
• Changes in dependency ratios “provide an indirect broad
indication of periods when we can expect the particular age
distribution of the country to affect the need for distinct types of
social services, housing, and consumer products.”
• Communities can refer to dependency ratio data as a guide for
making the best social policy decisions and as a way to allocate
resources.
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FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE AND
AGE
Dependency ratio
• For example, leaders in a community with a relatively high youth
dependency ratio compared to the old-age dependency ratio may want to
concentrate community resources on programs such as education for the
young, health promotion programs for children, special programs for
working parents, and other youth-associated concerns.
• Communities with high old-age dependency ratios might increase
programs for older adults including programs for caregivers and flexible
employment opportunities
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OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AFFECTING ELDERLY
Marital status
• Most elderly man are married; elder woman are more likely to be widowed
Living arrangements
• Depends on income, health status, availability of caregivers; alone, with
relatives,
nursing home
Racial and ethnic composition
• Health professionals will need to be more knowledgeable about cultural
backgrounds of elderly clients
Geographic population
• Inward migration of elders, young people leaving, fertility rates
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