Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. As the population in Europe ages, an increased focus on the health of older adults is necessary. In the first half of , out of randomly sampled residents of Dresden aged 60 years or older answered questions on their chronic conditions, care dependency, health-related quality of life HRQoL , and well-being, among others. Of the participants, More than one-tenth Gender differences were observed for some chronic health conditions, and women had a higher risk for lower HRQoL, well-being, and depressivity compared to men.
A low SES was associated with a higher risk of the vast majority of health outcomes. Particularly, socioeconomic factors and gender-related inequalities should be considered for the development of prevention and health-promoting measures during late life. Keywords: healthy ageing, older adults, need for care, well-being, health-related quality of life, physical health, mental health, multimorbidity.
Dresden, the capital city of the state of Saxony with a population of , inhabitants in , is already experiencing a similar development. An increase in the average population age from As the proportion of older people in the population increases, the resources and infrastructure available in cities should be better adapted to their needs and expectations. The development and growth of cities also directly impacts the lives of older persons, especially those who are socially and economically disadvantaged [ 5 ].
Therefore, the individual needs of this vulnerable population group, in particular, must also be considered in the context of urban development. In order to reach a certain level of well-being, households with individuals with disabilities or who are care dependent face significantly higher costs compared to households without this burden [ 6 ].
This problem will be compounded in the future as the population in Europe gets older and the proportion of individuals in need of care increases. A strategy could be to prevent or delay as much as possible disabilities in this age group by disease prevention and by promoting healthy behaviours. Those who wish to do so should therefore receive sufficient support to be able to live in their own homes for as long as possible [ 7 ]. As well, a key aspect to support ageing in place is to promote health and healthy behaviours and to make the necessary resources available to do so.
