HEALTHY AND FRAILTY AGING

Projects for the empowerment of healthy and conscious ageing. From 1950 to 2012 the over sixties in the world quadrupled, passing from 205 to 810 million in 2012, with a growth up to 1 billion by 2020 and doubling by 2050. However, there are profound differences between continents: If in 2012 in Africa the over sixties represented 6%, in Europe they were 34%. This dramatic demographic transition exacerbates the epidemiological: chronic-degenerative (non-communicable) diseases represent the main share of the global burden of disease, i.e. of the preventable mortality and disability. In the higher income countries, in fact, the growth of the elderly population is accompanied by a critical increase in the number of people with disabilities, mainly arising from non-communicable and neurodegenerative diseases. 

Italy is in the first position with respect to this drift: in 2016 it was the European country with the highest proportion of people over eighty, but also with mediocre health indicators, life expectancy at 80 just above average (9.5 vs 9.2) and satisfaction rates well below the European average. With the increase in life expectancy and the increasingly unfavourable  ratio of the active and non-active population, the socio-economic burden related to medical care, elderly care and social security expenditure for the elderly will also tend to increase, causing the so-called longevity shock, as also underlined by the International Monetary Fund. The European Commission estimates that by 2050 this transition will lead to an increase in healthcare spending that will amount to 1-2% of GPD.  

Based on these premises, we invite you to submit projects that aim to answer some questions related to ageing, and in particular: 

– Why do we grow old and grow old in poor health? 

– Why do some diseases only manifest in older people? 

– Is it possible to reduce the weight of diseases and disability during ageing? 

– How can we improve treatment and treatment paths? 

– Is it possible, through simple lifestyle changes, to achieve healthy ageing?

*Today is the day! Start thinking and building your project (based on the Call of Proposals) – online uploading will be available starting from March 2024