Chennai: The elderly population grows at a faster rate and so too the diseases. According to WHO, persons aged abo-ve 60 years will touch two billion by 2050. “With the increase in life expectancy, people now tend to live longer but we need more geriatricians to address their health problems,” point out health experts.

Data released by the Union ministry of health and family welfare shows that life expectancy in India has gone up by five years, from 62.3 years for males and 63.9 years for females in 2001-2005 to 67.3 years and 69.6 years respectively in 2011-2015.

India’s first professor in geriatric medicine, Dr V.S. Natarajan says we need to address not just the medical problems but social problems. “How many senior citizens live in our country alone while their children live in abroad? They have the money, but what about isolation and leading a dependent life” he asked. While lack of geriatricians is a concern, our country also needs geriatric nurses and aides. Dr Natarajan, who started Senior Citizens Bureau’s Geriatric House Call project, said that after retirement he felt the need to prevent health trouble and started house calls, where patients are attended to at their houses. Now with more number of centres catering exclusively to elderly population and providing treatment at their doorsteps, Dr Natar-ajan says, “They need some support as disability among elderly population affects them drastically.”

The prevalence of dementia is 40 per cent for those above 90. “Geriatric training programmes are gaining popularity. Students have started coming forward to take this sub specialty. As there’s lack of geriatricians, elderly population go only to general practitioners and they can’t understand the problems faced by them,” said a geriatrician.