Aging is an inevitable process, as famously stated by Seneca as “old age is an incurable disease.” However, a more contemporary perspective by Sir James Sterling Ross suggests that rather than trying to reverse old age, efforts should focus on safeguarding, promoting, and prolonging it, echoing the principles of preventive medicine. Human life typically unfolds across five distinct stages: infancy, childhood, adulthood, and old age, each presenting unique situations and challenges. Old age, in particular, brings its own set of difficulties. Physical strength wanes, mental faculties decline, financial resources may dwindle, and older individuals often experience neglect from younger generations

Keywords: aging, preventive medicine, old age, younger generations, physical strength.

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1. Straus SE. Geriatric medicine. BMJ. 2001; 322(7278): 86–89. doi: 10.1136/bmj.322.7278.86.
2. Park K. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine. 19th edition. m\s anapsids baton publisher, 2007, pp. 475–476
3. Sreevani R. A guide to mental health and psychiatric nursing, 2nd edition. New Delhi: Jaypee brothers’ publishers, 2004, pp. 246–248.
4. Melillo KD, Houde SC. Geropsychiatric and mental health nursing. 2nd edition. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc; 2011.
5. Coelho A, Lopes M, Barata M, Sousa S, Goes M, Bia F, Dias A, João A, Lusquinhos L, Oliveira H, Gaspar T. Biopsychosocial Factors That Influence the Purpose in Life among Working Adults and Retirees. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(8): 5456p. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20085456.
6. Kaplan, H. I., Sadock, B. J., & Grebb, J. A. Kaplan and Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences, clinical psychiatry, 7th edition. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Co., 1994, pp. 316–317.
7. Lena A, Ashok K, Padma M, Kamath V, Kamath A. Health and social problems of the elderly: a cross-sectional study in Udupi taluk, Karnataka. Indian J Community Med. 2009; 34(2): 131–4p. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.51236.
8. Kumar V. Ageing in India–an overview. Indian J Med Res. 1997; 106:257–64p.
9. Fiske A, Wetherell JL, Gatz M. Depression in older adults. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2009; 5:363–89p. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.032408.153621. PMID: 19327033; PMCID: PMC2852580.
10. Ogungbamila B, Adeyanju AB. Health and psychosocial complaints of elderly Ijaw widows in Yenagoa, Nigeria. Gerontology. 2010; 56(2): 200–7p. doi: 10.1159/000251713.

Aging is an inevitable process, as famously stated by Seneca as “old age is an incurable disease.” However, a more contemporary perspective by Sir James Sterling Ross suggests that rather than trying to reverse old age, efforts should focus on safeguarding, promoting, and prolonging it, echoing the principles of preventive medicine. Human life typically unfolds across five distinct stages: infancy, childhood, adulthood, and old age, each presenting unique situations and challenges. Old age, in particular, brings its own set of difficulties. Physical strength wanes, mental faculties decline, financial resources may dwindle, and older individuals often experience neglect from younger generations

Keywords: aging, preventive medicine, old age, younger generations, physical strength.

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. Straus SE. Geriatric medicine. BMJ. 2001; 322(7278): 86–89. doi: 10.1136/bmj.322.7278.86.
2. Park K. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine. 19th edition. m\s anapsids baton publisher, 2007, pp. 475–476
3. Sreevani R. A guide to mental health and psychiatric nursing, 2nd edition. New Delhi: Jaypee brothers’ publishers, 2004, pp. 246–248.
4. Melillo KD, Houde SC. Geropsychiatric and mental health nursing. 2nd edition. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc; 2011.
5. Coelho A, Lopes M, Barata M, Sousa S, Goes M, Bia F, Dias A, João A, Lusquinhos L, Oliveira H, Gaspar T. Biopsychosocial Factors That Influence the Purpose in Life among Working Adults and Retirees. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(8): 5456p. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20085456.
6. Kaplan, H. I., Sadock, B. J., & Grebb, J. A. Kaplan and Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences, clinical psychiatry, 7th edition. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Co., 1994, pp. 316–317.
7. Lena A, Ashok K, Padma M, Kamath V, Kamath A. Health and social problems of the elderly: a cross-sectional study in Udupi taluk, Karnataka. Indian J Community Med. 2009; 34(2): 131–4p. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.51236.
8. Kumar V. Ageing in India–an overview. Indian J Med Res. 1997; 106:257–64p.
9. Fiske A, Wetherell JL, Gatz M. Depression in older adults. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2009; 5:363–89p. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.032408.153621. PMID: 19327033; PMCID: PMC2852580.
10. Ogungbamila B, Adeyanju AB. Health and psychosocial complaints of elderly Ijaw widows in Yenagoa, Nigeria. Gerontology. 2010; 56(2): 200–7p. doi: 10.1159/000251713.