Some Problems Around Elderly Persons

Abstract

According to the vital statistics from 1970 to 1979 published from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the death rate was highest at the age of 55-59 years for gastric cancer, 75-79 years for gastric ulcer and 35-39 years for duodenal ulcer in a total of 6, 982, 264 deaths. According to the Annual of the Pathological Autopsy Cases from 1970 to 1979 published from the Japanese Pathological Society, the death rate was highest at the age of 70-74 years for gastric cancer, 65-69 years for gastric ulcer and 25-29 years for duodenal ulcer in a total of 257, 868 autopsy cases.
We have carried out gastric mass survery from 1960 in Miyagi prefecture. In 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976 and 1981 a total of 407, 695 persons were examined, and the incidence of gastric cancer was highest at the age of 70 years, that of gastric ulcer at 65-69 years and that of duodenal ulcer at 29 years or less.
Namely, these results indicate that gastric cancer and gastric ulcer are typical senile diseases.
One of the most important functions for the maintenance of human life is intestinal absorption, and gastric and pancreatic juice secretory functions participate in it.
We performed gastric juice analysis by endoscopic examination in 245 persons with probably normal gastric mucosa and noted that all of gastric juice secretion, maximum acid concentration and maximum pepsic concentration showed a tendency toward depression at the age of 70 years or more.
Then pancreatic juice secretory function was determined in 507 persons without pancreatic disease. As a result, secretion of pancreatic juice, bicarbonate or amylase was not depressed due to old age. In fat absorption test which was carried out in healthy persons, depressed absorption due to old age was not noted when daily fat intake was 30g or less. When it amounted to 35-40g, however, absorption of fat showed a tendency toward depression at the age of 70 years or more.
Accordingly, disturbed intestinal absorption due to old age does not occur in healthy elderly persons so long as they take appropriate amounts of food.
Recently the average life of Japanese has increased and is now longest in the world. A survey of literature shows that the life of Japanese was also long in the past. According to “Gishiwajinden” written by Jinju (233-277), a chronicler in ancient China, the life of Japanese was as long as 100 years in the third century. It was also recorded that Japanese life span was 100 years in “Yojokun” (1713) written by Ekiken Kaibara (1630-1714) and “Chomei Yojokun” (1716) written by Gyuzan Kazuki (1656-1740) in the Edo period.
Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (1762-1836), a doctor in Germany, advanced a theory that the natural life span is 200 years in his writing. It corresponds to 120 years in the present Japanese. Further, since it has been calculated that 190 years are required for all of 14 billion cerebral cells to die, about 120 years of age when more than half such cells are alive can be regarded as the natural life span.
We must study further, aiming at the natural life span of 120 years in the future.