Vietnamese people ‘live long but not healthy’

The information was given by Dr. Nguyen Trung Anh, Director of the Central Geriatrics Hospital, President of the Vietnam Geriatrics Association, at the meeting. The 5th National Geriatrics Conference, October 4. The conference was attended by many leading domestic and foreign experts in the fields of Geriatrics, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Musculoskeletal…

Vietnam is one of the 10 countries with the fastest population aging rate in the world, while developed countries take decades, even centuries, to move to this stage, such as France 115 years, Australia 73 years. ..

Currently, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people is 73 years but it is not good, according to geriatric experts. Last year’s statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), among 10 Southeast Asian countries, Vietnamese men’s life expectancy ranked 5th and Vietnamese women’s life expectancy ranked second. However, the number of years lived with illness is high compared to other countries.

About 60% have poor to very weak health. In addition, on average, the elderly suffer 14 years of illness, suffering from about 3-6 underlying diseases, such as metabolic disorders, bone and joint disorders, cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory, digestive disorders, hypertension, and diabetes. road…

“This is really a problem for the medical industry. When the number of patients increases but the ability to respond in terms of human resources and equipment is limited, the hospital is overloaded,” said Dr. Trung Anh. In addition, health care costs for the elderly are also increasing, putting financial pressure on the health insurance system and state budget.

Another burden that makes old age difficult is that more than 70% of the elderly do not have a pension and have to depend on their children. Of these, more than 65% of elderly people live in rural areas, are farmers and work in agriculture, and their income is unstable.

Similarly, Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, Ministry of Health, also commented that the aging rate in Vietnam is two or three times faster than in developing countries, making the population old but not rich, low quality of life. In addition, the elderly make up more than 20% of the population, all have underlying diseases, and need lifelong care, support, and treatment. This is both a challenge in care and treatment as well as economic, security and social development.

According to statistics from the General Department of Population, the elderly currently account for nearly 12% of our country’s population, with a forecast of 17.9% by 2025, and possibly 23.5% by the middle of the 21st century.

Faced with the above challenges, Associate Professor Anh believes that it is necessary to update new changes in the elderly health care system such as long-term care system, comprehensive support, and improving quality of life. Building a program framework for training doctors specializing in geriatrics and developing young human resources in Vietnam.

The health sector needs to develop specialized human resources in the field of geriatrics and related specialties in the prevention, treatment and care of underlying diseases such as dementia, Parkinson’s, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. , coronary intervention and pain relief, musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases…

“We must take the elderly as the center of service to care for them and help them live healthy and long lives,” Dr. Duc said.

In addition, elderly people need to pay attention to the principles of reasonable eating, reducing salt, fat and sugar, eating refined foods and not raw foods. Exercise regularly to keep your body blood circulating and your spirit always happy. Use additional supplements to compensate for the lack of nutrients in the body. Take medicine and have follow-up appointments on time, do not quit medicine arbitrarily. Monitor health and promptly adjust prescriptions as well as advise on nutrition and exercise, helping to maintain health and prevent complications.