[Aging and the risk of illness (author's transl)].

The necessity to conform with the fact of being ill leads to some psycho-social stress which can increase the risk of falling ill in aging persons in numerous ways. Different tendencies in theory (concepts in activity, disengagement and continuity) contain hints on those conditions which guarantee an individually successful taking over the role of old age and this adds to the decrease of the risk of falling ill. Aimed at health-education carried out in time adds to the chance of an adequate behaviour of old people concerning health and illness.