A recent National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report delivered some good news about the death rate in America, which dropped to a record low of 746.2 deaths per 100,000 people. For the first time in 45 years, homicide did not make the list of the top 15 causes of death, which included heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, diabetes, and accidents.
But what about people who reached an advanced age and died peacefully (we hope) in their beds? Where is "old age" on the list of death causes?
Officially, no one dies of old age in the United States. That's according to the NCHS, which is the government agency responsible for collecting statistical information on how we die. In the NCHS’s instructions for filling out death certificates, "old age" is discouraged for use as a cause of death: "Terms such as senescence [the process of growing old], infirmity, old age, and advanced age have little value for public health or medical research." Instead, physicians are told to list the immediate cause of death and any conditions that led up to it (for example, acute kidney failure as a consequence of diabetes).
Another related phrase, death from "natural causes," means that the person died of either an internal disease process or normal wear and tear on the body. But that's only used in certain circumstances, when a doctor has reason to suspect that a death is due to something else — for example, an accident, suicide, or homicide. In those instances, the case is turned over to a medical examiner or coroner (depending on the jurisdiction) to make that determination.
Some believe that old age as a cause of death should return as an option for death certificates. A 2010 The Washington Post article points out that it's often difficult to determine which chronic condition was most important in leading to a patient's death when they're likely to have several. According to the CDC, about 88 percent of adults over age 65 have one chronic condition, and 50 percent have at least two, with the most common being hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, eye disorders, and diabetes.
But what age is "old," anyway? We're living longer than ever, with the average U.S. life expectancy now a reported 78.7 years. And perhaps as a result, what's considered "old" is defined differently by different people. A recent survey conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion on behalf of Home Instead Senior Care found that "Millennials" (18- to 30-year-olds) considered old age to start at 62, Gen X'ers at 71, Baby Boomers at 77, and the "Greatest Generation" (World War II-era folks) at 81.
"If someone is over 100, I wouldn't quibble with old age as a cause of death," Robert N. Anderson, NCHS chief of mortality statistics, told the Post in 2010. "But I certainly wouldn't like to see 'old age' as a cause of death in someone who is 75. Even 85 would be pushing it."
However, there is one animal that really never dies of old age — the turtle. Unlike other species, the turtle's internal organs don't deteriorate over time, which means they can live almost indefinitely until felled by disease or an accident. Here are a few examples: A tortoise (one species of turtle) named Harriet, thought to have been discovered by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands, lived to be 176 years old. And according to the Guinness Book of World Records, a 188-year-old tortoise named Tui Malila, who had been owned by the royal family of Tonga since the 1770s, died at age 188 in 1965.
But what about people who reached an advanced age and died peacefully (we hope) in their beds? Where is "old age" on the list of death causes?
Officially, no one dies of old age in the United States. That's according to the NCHS, which is the government agency responsible for collecting statistical information on how we die. In the NCHS’s instructions for filling out death certificates, "old age" is discouraged for use as a cause of death: "Terms such as senescence [the process of growing old], infirmity, old age, and advanced age have little value for public health or medical research." Instead, physicians are told to list the immediate cause of death and any conditions that led up to it (for example, acute kidney failure as a consequence of diabetes).
Another related phrase, death from "natural causes," means that the person died of either an internal disease process or normal wear and tear on the body. But that's only used in certain circumstances, when a doctor has reason to suspect that a death is due to something else — for example, an accident, suicide, or homicide. In those instances, the case is turned over to a medical examiner or coroner (depending on the jurisdiction) to make that determination.
Some believe that old age as a cause of death should return as an option for death certificates. A 2010 The Washington Post article points out that it's often difficult to determine which chronic condition was most important in leading to a patient's death when they're likely to have several. According to the CDC, about 88 percent of adults over age 65 have one chronic condition, and 50 percent have at least two, with the most common being hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, eye disorders, and diabetes.
But what age is "old," anyway? We're living longer than ever, with the average U.S. life expectancy now a reported 78.7 years. And perhaps as a result, what's considered "old" is defined differently by different people. A recent survey conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion on behalf of Home Instead Senior Care found that "Millennials" (18- to 30-year-olds) considered old age to start at 62, Gen X'ers at 71, Baby Boomers at 77, and the "Greatest Generation" (World War II-era folks) at 81.
"If someone is over 100, I wouldn't quibble with old age as a cause of death," Robert N. Anderson, NCHS chief of mortality statistics, told the Post in 2010. "But I certainly wouldn't like to see 'old age' as a cause of death in someone who is 75. Even 85 would be pushing it."
However, there is one animal that really never dies of old age — the turtle. Unlike other species, the turtle's internal organs don't deteriorate over time, which means they can live almost indefinitely until felled by disease or an accident. Here are a few examples: A tortoise (one species of turtle) named Harriet, thought to have been discovered by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands, lived to be 176 years old. And according to the Guinness Book of World Records, a 188-year-old tortoise named Tui Malila, who had been owned by the royal family of Tonga since the 1770s, died at age 188 in 1965.
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