‘These are exciting times for Alzheimer’s research; but do not lose focus on prevention’: MV Padma Srivastava

Down To Earth speaks to MV Padma Srivastava, Head of Department of Neurology and the Chief of Neurosciences Centre at the All India Institute of …

Ageing world: Elderly population expected to double over the next 3 decades; are our policies mature enough to address it?

Gender inequalities persist into old age; women’s lower levels of formal labour market participation, shorter working lives & lower …

How is India’s population ageing? Evidence from LASI

An integrative approach to align the needs of elderly as well as older adults in programmes and policies is the need of hour

Ageism hurts young, old alike: New report shows extent of impact

The younger, male, less educated population, as well as those anxious about death was more likely to perpetrate ageism

‘Elderly women more overweight, obese than men’

More elderly aged 60 and above were overweight and obese in urban areas than in rural areas, found Longitudinal Ageing Study in India 

Empathy, policy, and lessons from literature: remembering Munshi Premchand

In the era of ChatGPT and machine-based learning, policymakers and educators must revisit literature and introduce it as a mandatory component in …

One in every 10 elderly Indian women underwent uterus removal: Survey

The proportion was highest in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh where at least one in five women above 45 had the surgery

Watch out for osteoporosis

Regular check-ups after 60, bone assessments, exercises and preventive measures to break falls can go a long way in helping seniors

Older adults with dementia but without close family: Who are they? And who cares for them?

Some received support from neighbours and friends that could involve quite extensive hands-on care

Coronavirus: the puzzle of why the risk of death is greater for men and for the elderly

For COVID-19, age and sex appear to be strong predictors of who lives and who dies  

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world — and that doesn’t bode well for its economy

The older people population is projected to be 20% of the country by 2025 and could reach an unprecedented and astoundingly high 46% in 2067

91% of sub-Saharan African workers don’t save for old age: Why that’s a problem and how to fix it

A well-developed pension system that provides adequate income to the elderly will help sub-Saharan countries in many ways

2022 too short, too far: Air pollution was in the news again, not least due to Delhi

Down To Earth recaps the primary environment, health and developmental news from 2022  

Larger share of senior citizens in India’s villages work compared to urban counterparts

Around 50% of male senior citizens were working compared to 22% women, according to the LASI report

Air pollution can significantly aggravate asthma

India's unique imperatives- high incidenc of poverty, poor nutrition levels, underlying diseases, extremely high pollution further enhance the …

Policies to support dementia patients mostly in high-income countries: WHO

There will be a steady rise in global dementia prevalence in the coming decades, the health agency warns

Punjab, Chandigarh have most senior citizens with ocular morbidities: LASI

Comprehensive studies are needed to study changing trends in eye-related problems to reduce the instances of resultant eye diseases

Why the world needs a new wave of migration

Migrants would sustain the developed countries’ economy in the near future as their working population hits record low

Less than a third BPL senior citizens benefit from old age pension scheme: Health ministry survey

Awareness and enrolment for widow pension and Annapurna schemes were even lower, the study said

Interim Budget 2019: Pensioners let down, say activists

Piyush Goyal’s budget speech ignored the vulnerable as it had nothing about the state-assured social pension for the elderly, widows and …

Food poverty growing among older adults in India: LASI study

Nearly 6% of individuals in India aged 45 and above studied consumed smaller portions or skipped meals; 5.3% did not eat even when they were …

Healthcare needs of the elderly should become global priority, says study

As the number of elderly exceeds that of children under 5 years, health systems will need to learn how to address the changing age profile of the …

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (October 7, 2022)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

Elderly & lonely

India has more elderly people than ever before. Most of them have little social security and cannot afford healthcare. While the government seems …

COVID-19: How the most vulnerable were identified in 2 Odisha districts

A non-profit working on food security issues, took up a pilot project to identify such people needing urgent governmental and non-governmental …