USA: Aging Graceully is the Biggest Concern

WASHINGTON (USA Today), October 23, 2005: The idea of growing old is apparently scarier than growing old itself, according to a USA TODAY/ABC News poll on aging. The poll, released today, gauges Americans' attitudes about aging and highlights the concerns facing those planning for the years ahead. It found that Americans are most concerned about their quality of life as they get older. Nearly two-thirds of adults who responded say they don't think they could live to be 100 and still enjoy life. However, the poll revealed that the older people get, the less worried they are about aging. The poll found that 92% are at least somewhat concerned about one or more of 10 items listed in the survey, but in general, people over age 65 are less worried than younger people. An average of results for the 10 items listed found 45% of older people expressing concern, compared with 57% of those under 65. "Many Americans have this idea that as you age, your health will decline and you will not be able to care for yourself. Younger people fear old age because of a misconception that getting older means a rapid decline in health," says researcher JaeMi Pennington of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University. That's not necessarily so, he says. "More people today are living longer and healthier lives, and we can attribute that to advances in medical science and better nutrition." In the poll of 1,000 adults, health tops the list of fears about aging; it was listed by 78% of women and 68% of men. Other fears include the possibility of "losing the ability to care for yourself," cited by 75% of women and 66% of men, and the loss of mental abilities, 73% of women and 65% of men. Sixty-six percent of women and 54% of men worry about running out of money. Not being able to travel or drive is a concern for 61% of women and 67% of men, and being a burden on the family was listed by 59% of women, 50% of men. On average, people become "elderly" at 71, the poll found, but except for the 7% who say they want to live forever, the average desired life span is 87. That's longer than the current average life span of nearly 78, but that number could change. The centenarian study says 100-year-olds are the fastest-growing age group in America; the second-fastest group is 85 and older. The poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 12-16 and has a three-point margin of error. By Anita Manning USA TODAY Quality of life a key issue How convinced are you about the following issues as you get older? Is that something that worries you a great deal, somewhat, not so much or not at all? Total percentage who say they're concerned: Losing your health 73% Losing the ability to take care of yourself 70% Losing mental abilities 69% Running out of money 60% Not being able to drive/travel 59% Being a burden on your family 54% Winding up in a nursing home 52% Not being able to work/volunteer 49% Being alone 39% Losing your looks 22% --------------------------------------- Source: USA TODAY/ABC News Phone poll of 1,000 adults, conducted October 12-16. Margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points.