Prevention is the best cure for age-related medical conditions, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and pneumonia, doctors said, adding that healthy habits are crucial to reducing the social and economic costs of an aging population.
The prevalence of high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels in Taiwanese older than 65 are 62.9 percent, 29.9 percent and 32.6 percent respectively, Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics showed.
These conditions are highly linked to cancer, cardiovascular and cerebral vascular diseases, diabetes and other diseases related to high blood pressure, which are the main causes of death in the nation, the ministry said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
A diet rich in vegetables and fruits is important to keep blood pressure down, Taiwan Hypertension Society president Wang Tsung-tao (王宗道) said.
A regular intake of potassium, magnesium and calcium is also important, he said.
The recommended daily intake of sodium is 4g to 10g, and daily alcohol consumption should not exceed 15g, or about a bottle of wine per week, he said.
People are also advised to maintain their ideal body weight, exercise regularly and monitor their blood pressure, he said.
Many age-related conditions accompany cardiovascular conditions, Diabetes Association of Taiwan secretary-general Lin Shih-yi (林時逸) said.
Nationwide, people with diabetes number about 1.8 million to 2.2 million, 40 percent of whom are elderly people, he said, attributing the high total to an aging population.
About 30 percent of those with diabetes have hypertension or high cholesterol levels, he added.
The groups of those with high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol levels largely overlap — having one condition often leads to having two or all three, he said.
The indicators for being at a high risk for diabetes are obesity, a parent with diabetes, a medical history of cardiovascular disease, gestational diabetes, high triglycerides or low levels of high-density lipoproteins, he said.
People in the high-risk population should check their blood sugar levels once every three years, he said.
Taiwan’s pneumonia death rate in 2016 far exceeded those of Japan, South Korea and the US, outstripping them by a factor of 2.3 to 4.6, China Medical University Hospital gerontologist Lin Chih-hsueh (林志學) said.
The rise in mortality that year was caused by an influenza A (H1N1) pandemic and a low pneumococcal vaccination rate of 15.2 percent among the elderly population.
By contrast, the vaccination rate was 32 percent in Japan, 57 percent in South Korea, and 70 to 80 percent in the US, he said.
Older Taiwanese should receive regular vaccinations against seasonal influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae to boost their immune systems against common infectious diseases, he said.
Blood vessel blockages become more common as people age, said Huang Kuo-chin (黃國晉), president of National Taiwan University Hospital’s Beihu branch.
Blockages are worsened by the high fat and cholesterol content of the modern diet, he added.
The risk of cardiovascular disease is further aggravated by common unhealthy habits, such as little exercise and smoking, he said.
Medical professionals believe that the rate of heart disease will rise over the next decade, with its role in morbidity likely surpassing that of cancer, making it a priority in preventive medicine, he said.
Reduced walking speeds or grip strength are indicative of muscle atrophy and people should seek medical attention to identify the cause as soon as these signs appear, he said.
Preventive measures for elderly people are divided into early, intermediate and late stages, he said.
The early stage includes abstaining from tobacco, controlling one’s weight and getting vaccinated; the intermediate stage comprises early diagnosis and treatment; and the late stage involves therapeutic procedures to prevent loss of function, he said.
Preventive measures in all three stages are important to improve the quality of life of older people, he said.
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