Health

Perception of when "old age" begins changes depending on when you were born, study finds

By Mallika Marshall, MD

May 6, 2024 / 5:42 PM EDT / CBS Boston

Researchers find that most people consider "old age" to be 75 or higher

BOSTON - When does old age begin? A new study says it depends on when you were born.

German researchers looked at data on more than 14,000 participants between the ages of 40 and 85 over 25 years. They found that at age 65, on average, people generally considered old age to begin at about age 75.

But every 4 to 5 years, that "old age" number has shifted higher by one year or more. And the later people are born, the later they believe old age begins.

As we age, we tend to feel younger than people of the same age did in the past, but we also think of old age in an increasingly negative light, associating it with frailty, failing health, and mental decline.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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