After the age of 60, the quality of social and personal life is crucial for life expectancy

ISTAT's latest Report 2024 on the state of the country tells us that the increasing spread of healthy lifestyles has increased life expectancy and healthy life years, positively influencing the quality of life even at older ages and demonstrating that it is possible to remain socially active even after retirement.
The data on the ageing of the Italian population are well known. Since 2004, the average age of the Italian population has increased from 42.3 years to 46.6 years. The old age index[1] is 199.8 per cent, an increase of more than 64 percentage points over the last two decades. Adults and young people, aged between 16 and 64, have decreased by slightly less than 2 million individuals: as of 1 January 2024, there were 36 million 866 thousand residents aged between 16 and 64 (62.5% of the total population), 2.5% less than in 2004, while children and young people up to 15 years of age now number 7 million 766 thousand (13.2% of the total population), a loss of almost 1 million individuals compared to 2004. The population aged 65 and over, on the other hand, grew by more than 3 million to 14 million 358 thousand individuals (24.3%, up 5.1 percentage points from 2004). Of these, over half are now aged 75 and over: 7 million 439 thousand individuals (12.6% of the total population), an increase of 3.8 percentage points in twenty years.

 

 

The study ‘Age is just a number: how older adults view healthy ageing’ by the McKinsey Health Institute published in May 2023 covered 21,000 people aged 55 and over in 21 countries worldwide. The study looked at 53 factors that affect older people the most and that have the greatest impact on their health. Having a purpose in life, having a balanced level of stress, exercising, participating in cultural life and continuing education, having opportunities to learn new skills, volunteering are the factors considered most important.

 

 

The older segment of the population feels less active and excluded from work and participation activities. But general health improves when respondents are engaged in work, voluntary, educational and community activities compared to those who are not. In percentage terms, the perception of general health is 8% higher among those who already volunteer or want to volunteer than among those who do not volunteer or do not want to volunteer.
70% of respondents aged 55-64 use a smartphone; 49% use a laptop or tablet; 27% use a smart home device; 25% use online tools; 24% use a fitness watch. For those over 80 years of age, the percentage of smartphone users decreases to 42%. And while for the 55-64 age group it is cost that is the main barrier to using a device, for those over 80 it is the technological knowledge gap.