Health ministry seeks info on senior citizens' lives
NEW DELHI: What do India's senior citizens love to eat, and what would be most nutritious for them? How many of them are undernourished, and how many are obese? What are the main neurological disorders they suffer from? What are the environmental, clinical and biological determinants of functional lifespan among India's elderly population? What is the country's actual burden of the greying population?
The nation's apex research body, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is seeking answers to these critical questions. India will soon have a tremendous burden of greying population. Consequently, the Union health minister is now trying to better understand "this section of society more scientifically". ICMR has called for research proposals from scientists across the country to find answers to these searching questions. "There is a need for focussed research on the impact of social, economic and family transitions on the lives of the aged and to understand the biology and genetics of ageing. The idea is to explore new areas of research through amalgamation of biomedical and social approaches. These research initiatives would help to inform policy decisions and address challenges and opportunities of an ageing world," ICMR says. It adds, "To gather scientific evidence on the biology of ageing and the environmental, health, and economic implications of ageing, ICMR announces the call for concept proposals in the following broad areas — longevity, brain ageing and neuro-degeneration, effect of age-related diseases and longevity in humans, genetic studies, mental health and neurological disorders, epidemiology and burden of disease in the elderly, ageing and nutritional needs, assessment of nutritional status, under nutrition and obesity in aged, nutrition and degenerative diseases." According to officials, the overall goals are to build a research base for environmental, epidemiological, social and biological factors that influence healthy ageing.
Each project has a maximum annual budget of Rs 50 lakh. A project can run maximum for three years.
The nation's apex research body, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is seeking answers to these critical questions. India will soon have a tremendous burden of greying population. Consequently, the Union health minister is now trying to better understand "this section of society more scientifically". ICMR has called for research proposals from scientists across the country to find answers to these searching questions. "There is a need for focussed research on the impact of social, economic and family transitions on the lives of the aged and to understand the biology and genetics of ageing. The idea is to explore new areas of research through amalgamation of biomedical and social approaches. These research initiatives would help to inform policy decisions and address challenges and opportunities of an ageing world," ICMR says. It adds, "To gather scientific evidence on the biology of ageing and the environmental, health, and economic implications of ageing, ICMR announces the call for concept proposals in the following broad areas — longevity, brain ageing and neuro-degeneration, effect of age-related diseases and longevity in humans, genetic studies, mental health and neurological disorders, epidemiology and burden of disease in the elderly, ageing and nutritional needs, assessment of nutritional status, under nutrition and obesity in aged, nutrition and degenerative diseases." According to officials, the overall goals are to build a research base for environmental, epidemiological, social and biological factors that influence healthy ageing.
Each project has a maximum annual budget of Rs 50 lakh. A project can run maximum for three years.
According to Union health ministry, the greying population will increase to 12% of the total population by 2025 — 10% of which would be bedridden, requiring utmost care. A majority (80%) of them are in the rural areas, making service delivery a challenge. Add to that, 51% of the elderly population will be women by 2016, along with a spurt in the number of older-old (persons above 80 years). To make matters worse, 30% of the elderly will be below the poverty line. It is estimated that the 60-plus population will increase to 100 million in 2013, and to 198 million by 2030.
(timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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