By 2040, the bulk of surviving baby boomers will pass age 85, and make up more than 45% of the rich world's population; the number of over 85's is projected to more than quadruple by 2050. Associated with this is the potential cost to economies from ageing populations, where some diseases are decreasing as healthcare improves, other degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's are on the rise; Alzheimer's is now the third most common cause of death among Americans over 85, and by 2050 those living with dementia is expected to triple. The report also highlights that in many countries, including China, India and Brazil, there has been a significant increase in life expectancy for women since 1990, but only an average one year improvement for men.
By 2040, the bulk of surviving baby boomers will pass age 85, and make up more than 45% of the rich world's population; the number of over 85's is projected to more than quadruple by 2050. Associated with this is the potential cost to economies from ageing populations, where some diseases are decreasing as healthcare improves, other degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's are on the rise; Alzheimer's is now the third most common cause of death among Americans over 85, and by 2050 those living with dementia is expected to triple. While elderly care is expensive, it accounted from only 9% of healthcare spending in the US in 2010 however this is expected to grow along with demand for labour-intensive, long term care.