Marathon world records begin to decline after the age of 30. Ability at mental arithmetic shows a decline in longitudinal surveys, but this may reflect education rather than physiology. There is a case for treating old people as a higher priority for health treatment, since their reserves are lower than younger people. Most research in developed countries is aiming to increase knowledge of ageing mechanisms. Session discussion Productive activity increases vitality.
Reactive depression is more common among older people.
Pain and depression particularly affect older age groups. Stroke is one of the most common causes of disability and yet doctors don t treat hypertension in older people. That is extremely undesirable. One of the problems in treating hypertension in older people is the lag between research results and changes in the prescribing behaviour of doctors. We need a change of view.