Grundy E M
Age Concern Institute of gerontology King's College London.
Popul Trends. 1996 Summer(84):14-20.
The elderly population of the UK is currently growing more slowly than in the past, but is becoming older. When the larger post-Second World War birth cohorts reach their sixties this trend will be reversed. In comparison with their predecessors, more of today's elderly have spouses and children. The proportions of divorced people among the elderly, while growing rapidly, are still small. Changes in living arrangements have been substantial. Co-residence between generations has continued to become less, and living alone more common. The number of elderly people with children close at hand has fallen and the proportion of very old people living in institutions has increased. Elderly people are far less likely to be in paid work than in the past, but provide a great deal of the informal care needed by disabled parents and other people aged 65 or over. Mortality rates at older ages have fallen, but the extent of self-reported limiting long-term illness has risen. This may reflect increased awareness of health problems among elderly people. More positively, there are signs that the extent of serious disability has fallen.
英国老年人口目前的增长速度比过去慢，但老龄化程度却在加深。当二战后出生的较大规模群体步入六十岁时，这一趋势将会逆转。与前辈相比，如今更多老年人有配偶和子女。老年人中离婚者的比例虽迅速增长，但仍然较小。生活安排发生了重大变化。代际同住的情况持续减少，独居则更为普遍。身边有子女的老年人数量减少，住在养老院的高龄老人比例增加。与过去相比，老年人从事有薪工作的可能性大大降低，但他们为残疾父母及其他65岁及以上的老人提供了大量所需的非正式照料。老年死亡率有所下降，但自我报告的长期健康受限状况有所上升。这可能反映出老年人对健康问题的意识增强。更积极的是，有迹象表明严重残疾的程度有所下降。
