What is the significance of geriatric disease prevention?

The core significance of geriatric disease prevention is essentially to shorten the survival time of "bedridden, disabled and mentally ill" in later life as much as possible, which not only helps the elderly maintain dignity in their later years, but also reduces the pressure on families and the public medical system.

I have been working in community health service for the elderly for almost 6 years and have seen too many positive and negative examples. The most intuitive comparison is between two 76-year-olds in the same unit: Uncle Zhang usually adjusts his diet according to our health class and quit smoking long ago. He walks around the community for 40 minutes every evening and takes the initiative to follow up for chronic diseases twice a year. Now his blood pressure and blood sugar are within the standard line. Last week, he went to climb Mount Huangshan with the senior group.； Uncle Li always said before that "life or death is a matter of life, and prevention is just a fool's errand." He couldn't do without pickles and white wine at Dundu. When he had a headache, he would take some painkillers to carry it. Last winter, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was sent to the hospital. His life was saved, but his left side was paralyzed. Now he can't live without people. His wife, who was originally planning to retire and travel around the world, now has to help him wipe his body and do rehabilitation every day. The rhythm of the whole family's life has been disrupted.

Of course, there are many different voices nowadays. For example, some old people feel that after working hard all their lives, they still have to avoid this and that when they are old. Life is too frustrating.； There are also many young people who feel that "it is useless to spend hundreds or even thousands on screenings, and it is too late to treat them if they are really sick." These concerns are actually not completely unreasonable. When we do health education, we will not ask the elderly to completely give up their appetites. For example, salt control does not mean that you cannot touch any soy sauce and pickles. It should be controlled within 5 grams a day. Occasionally, it is perfectly fine to eat a piece of soy meat if you are craving for it. Prevention is never about putting shackles on the lives of the elderly, but helping them find a comfortable and long-lasting rhythm of life.

Looking at the big picture, the country's elderly population over 60 years old has exceeded 280 million, and 75% of them have chronic diseases. If everyone does not take preventive measures and wait for chronic diseases to develop into terminal stages such as myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and uremia before seeking treatment, not only will individuals suffer, but the pressure on medical insurance funds will also increase sharply. By then, patients who really need emergency treatment may not be able to get medical resources.

To put it bluntly, the prevention of geriatric diseases is like regular maintenance of an old house that has been lived in for decades. It is much more cost-effective to regularly run the water, tighten the circuit screws, and repair the cracks in the exterior wall than to spend hundreds of thousands on renovations one day when a water pipe bursts or the circuit catches fire, and the people who live in it are more secure. Last week we did a free bone density screening at our station, and an 81-year-old aunt was diagnosed with osteopenia. She followed our advice to drink 200 ml of low-fat milk every day, bask in the sun for 20 minutes in the morning, and practice a simplified version of Tai Chi with the elderly in the community. When she came for a follow-up this month, she said that her legs hurt when she went downstairs to buy groceries. Now she can dance in the community with her granddaughter for half an hour at night. She said with a smile, "It turns out that I don't have to take expensive health care products. This little thing can save me from suffering. If I had known, I would have listened to you."