[Problems of aging in China]

A WHO consultancy to the 'National Seminar on Geriatrics' in Beijing provided an opportunity to get some ideas about the problems of ageing in China. Since 1949 life expectancy has doubled and it has been estimated that between now and the end of the century the 65+ group will double to a total of approximately 100 million people. This will be the fastest growing ageing population in history. With more than 1000 million inhabitants China is the largest country in the world and also because of epidemiological facilities it offers unique opportunities to study for instance maximum life-span. Results sofar support the view that this will not exceed the generally accepted figure of 120 years. Institutional care is limited, but this is at least partly offset by the structure of society, having the family as the central unit. Preventive medicine scores high and one should hope that it will contribute to geriatrics, as it has contributed to other parts of medicine.