Trend More age-related disease and multimorbidity

Summary

The report expects the number of older people and life expectancy in the Netherlands to keep rising, and with them the demand for care. Age-related conditions such as dementia and osteoarthritis in particular become more common, and older people frequently live with several chronic conditions at once. Ageing sharply increases the number of people with three or more chronic diseases, and health differences among older people widen strongly. In every age group, those with the least education live less healthy and shorter lives. The report illustrates the trend with RIVM projections of the disease burden for 2022 to 2050 and warns that a growing number of people with health problems can take less part in society, leaving both them and society vulnerable.