The misnomer of ‘elderly’

Ruiz-Cantero, A.

doi:10.1016/j.rceng.2022.09.001

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Ruiz-Cantero" "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => array:4 [ "nombre" => "A." "apellidos" => "Ruiz-Cantero" "email" => array:1 [ 0 => "aruizc@telefonica.net" ] "referencia" => array:2 [ 0 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "a" "identificador" => "aff0005" ] 1 => array:2 [ "etiqueta" => "b" "identificador" => "aff0010" ] ] ] ] "afiliaciones" => array:2 [ 0 => array:3 [ "entidad" => "Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital de la Serranía, Ronda, Málaga, Spain" "etiqueta" => "a" "identificador" => "aff0005" ] 1 => array:3 [ "entidad" => "Grupo de Trabajo Paciente Pluripatológico y Edad Avanzada, Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna, Spain" "etiqueta" => "b" "identificador" => "aff0010" ] ] ] ] "titulosAlternativos" => array:1 [ "es" => array:1 [ "titulo" => "La mala denominación de «anciano»" ] ] "textoCompleto" => "Multiple scientific publications use the word “elderly” to describe a population group by their age. One such example is this journal, Revista Clínica Española, in which this word is used in the title or content of 493 articles from January 2000 to September 2022.It is also used in our daily lives in the name of some institutions, such as ‘homes for the elderly’ or ‘elder care homes,’ and even in the medical records we write or comments made between professionals. It is also present when we address older people by interacting with them using child-like language (so-called ‘elderspeak’).The mean life expectancy at birth is 73 years, according to the most recent data from the World Bank<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0005">1</a> in 2020. However, in some African countries, life expectancy is among the lowest in the world, such as the Central African Republic at 54 years or Lesotho, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone at 55 years. We know that life expectancy continues to increase in all countries and thus, an older adult in the early years of the 20th century would not be considered an older adult today, and even today, it depends on the country. In the case of Spain, life expectancy in 1960 was 69 years; in 2019, it was 84 years; in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was 82 years.Therefore, there is no cut-off point for such a definition. What’s more, the term “elderly” is discriminative and derogatory, as described by Claudia Mahler, an Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0010">2</a> in the United Nations Human Rights Council A/HRC/48/53 of August 4, 2021: ageism is the set of “stereotypes, prejudice and/or discriminatory actions or practices against older persons that are based on their chronological age or on a perception that the person is ‘old’ (or ‘elderly’).”Mahler also indicates that, “the term ‘elderly’ is often used to describe an older person, or older persons in general. However, the use of the term perpetuates ageist stereotypes about older persons, suggesting that they are frail and vulnerable and lack capacity… Ageism is based on the assumption that older persons are somehow lacking as a result of their age. The term ‘ageism’ was coined by Robert N. Butler, who described the phenomenon as the systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplish this with skin color and gender. Old people are categorized as senile, rigid in thought and manner, and old fashioned in morality and skills”<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0010">2</a>.This same report states that during the pandemic, the vulnerability of older people’s human rights was evident and violations of said rights were made worse<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0010">2</a>.The World Health Organization’s world report on ageism<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRefs" href="#bib0015">3,4</a> also states that language transmits meaning and that some words, such as “elderly,” (rather than “elderly person,” which should be used), “old,” or “senile” generate stereotypes that make one think that older people are always frail and dependent.In addition, the term “adult person” is also used with certain frequency as something more subtle when the term “older person” should be used, as it is a neutral term. Indeed, the International Day of “Older Persons” is celebrated on October 1, according to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 45/106 of December 14, 1990.In 1966, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Francis Peyton Rous (1879–1970) at 87 years of age; to date, he is the oldest recipient of the Nobel Prize.Therefore, we should not discriminate against older people because in reality, we are discriminating against ourselves when we age. What’s more, the public must be educated so they know and recognize what ageism is and so they know it not only discriminates against older people, but also against young people or people of any other age group.For all of the above, I believe we should eliminate these words from both our day-to-day language and from the educational, professional, and scientific fields.Wouldn’t it be marvelous if age were just a number? Sir Muir Grey. Ex-Director of Knowledge of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0025">5</a>." "pdfFichero" => "main.pdf" "tienePdf" => true "bibliografia" => array:2 [ "titulo" => "References" "seccion" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "identificador" => "bibs0005" "bibliografiaReferencia" => array:5 [ 0 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "bib0005" "etiqueta" => "1" "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:1 [ "referenciaCompleta" => "Banco Mundial. Esperanza de vida al nacer, total (años) [accessed 24 Jul 2022]. Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN">https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN</a>." ] ] ] 1 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "bib0010" "etiqueta" => "2" "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:1 [ "referenciaCompleta" => "Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas. A/HRC/48/53 [accessed 24 Jul 2022]. Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G21/215/66/PDF/G2121566.pdf?OpenElement">https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G21/215/66/PDF/G2121566.pdf?OpenElement</a>." ] ] ] 2 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "bib0015" "etiqueta" => "3" "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:1 [ "referenciaCompleta" => "Informe mundial sobre el edadismo. Washington, D.C.: Organización Panamericana de la Salud; 2021. Licencia: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.37774/9789275324455">https://doi.org/10.37774/9789275324455</a>." ] ] ] 3 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "bib0020" "etiqueta" => "4" "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:1 [ "referenciaCompleta" => "Global report on ageism. ©World Health Organization, 2021 [electronic version] [accessed 1 Ago 2022]. Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/55871">https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/55871</a>." ] ] ] 4 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "bib0025" "etiqueta" => "5" "referencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "contribucion" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "titulo" => "Sod Seventy!: The Guide to Living Well" "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => array:2 [ "etal" => false "autores" => array:1 [ 0 => "M. 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Revista Clínica Española (English Edition)

ISSN: 2254-8874

Revista Clínica Española published its first issue in 1940 and is the body of expression of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI).
The journal fully endorses the goals of updating knowledge and facilitating the acquisition of key developments in internal medicine applied to clinical practice. Revista Clínica Española is subject to a thorough double blind review of the received articles written in Spanish or English. Ten issues are published each year, including mostly originals, reviews and consensus documents.

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2.3

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0.7

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0.162

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0.211

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Vol. 223. Issue 1.

Pages 65 (January 2023)

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