The Contemporary Geriatric Problems of Kerala – a Socio-medical Analysis

Medical and Socio-economic changes in the twenty first century have turned it into a century of old age. Old age is a time of grace. Scientific and technological progress has increased lifespan to a height, unprecedented in human history. As per Census 2001, the number of older persons in 2001 was 70.6 million (6.9%) which was projected to be 83.5 million in 2006 (7.5%). As per the projections the percentage of older persons will be 94.8 million in 2011 (8.3%), 118 million in 2016, (9.3%) 143.7 million in 2021(10.7%) and 173.1 million in 2026 (12.4%). The growth of population of the older persons shows upward trend. The gender position of the elderly reveals that the life-expectancy of women is found higher than men. Many of women in the 70 + age group are found to be either widow or single without any support for themselves.1