[Biology and needs of the aged]

The elderly age group is growing rapidly as a proportion of the total population of Italy. By the year 2020 the population aged 65 and over is expected to increase from 17% to 23%. The biological process of aging leads to a loss of functional reserves, and so elderly people are frail and affected by multiple diseases. However, health in the elderly is synonymous with self-sufficiency, which may be preserved even in the presence of a disabling disease. According to the new WHO International Classification of Functioning and Disability (ICIDH-2) the important elements in defining health status include personal activity and social participation, as well as body functions. As people age in different ways, the response to the needs of the elderly must be flexible and multidimensional. One of the priority objectives of modern medicine is to push disability to the end of life as much as possible.