Articles

Significant Senior Statistics and Demographics

STATISTICS FOR CANADA (Source: Statistics Canada, unless mentioned otherwise)

• One Third (1/3) of all people who have ever lived past the age of 65 are alive today
• Seniors constitutes the fastest growing population group in Canada
• More than one in four seniors face restrictions in their activities due to long-term health problems
• Despite reporting ‘good’ health, four in five of Canadians living at home suffer from a chronic health condition, the proportion being slightly higher for senior women than senior men
• 1 in 4 Canadian seniors has a long term disability or handicap
• As the “Baby Boomers” (born between 1946 to 1965) age, the seniors population is expected to reach 6.7 million in 2021 and 9.2 million in 2041
• The number of Canadians aged 85 years or more is expected to grow to 1.6 million by 2041, 4% of the whole population
• There were approximately 25,000 hip fractures in Canada in 1996 – Osteoporosis Society of Canada
• The growth of the seniors population will account for close to half of the growth of the overall Canadian population in the next 4 decades
• In Canada, approximately 1 senior in 10 is a Canadian War Service Veteran

ALZHEIMER DISEASE & DEMENTIA (Source: Statistics Sheet. Alzheimer Canada. January 2005)

• 420, 000 Canadians over 65 have Alzheimer Disease or other dementia
• 287, 660 women
• 132, 560 men
• in 13 of all Canadians aged 65 or over have Alzheimer Disease or other dementia
• 1 in 3 of all Canadians aged 85 or over have Alzheimer Disease or other dementia
• Over 52% of Canadians know someone with Alzheimer Disease or other dementia
• Approximately 10% of the people with Alzheimer Disease or other dementia are under the age of 65
• Almost 25% of Canadians have someone with Alzheimer Disease or other dementia in their family

OSTEOPOROSIS (Source: Website. Osteoporosis Society Canada: www.osteoporosis.ca)

• There are 1.4 million Canadians who suffer from osteoporosis. One in four women over the age of 50 and one in eight men over 50 have the disease. However, the disease can strike at any age.
• Bone loss happens gradually and can progress without any symptoms or warning signs until the disease is advanced. As a result, osteoporosis is often referred to as the 'silent thief.'
• There were approximately 25,000 hip fractures in Canada in 1996. Seventy per cent of hip fractures are osteoporosis-related.
• The one-in-six lifetime risk of getting a hip fracture is greater than the one-in-nine risk of developing breast cancer, and the death rate is higher.

PARKINSON DISEASE (Source: Website. Parkinson’s Society of Canada: www.parkinson.ca)

• Nearly 100,000 people in Canada have Parkinson’s Disease
• The incidence of Parkinson’s Disease increases with age, 20% of patients may be diagnosed under the age of 50 and 5-10% under the age of 40