In Mexico, according to the latest estimates, there are almost 13 million people who are 60 years old or older.
The increase in life expectancy together with the decrease in fertility rates has resulted in a progressive aging of the population, which entails social and health challenges related to this age group.
In the case of older adults, chronic noncommunicable diseases represent the main health challenges, as evidenced by diseases of the circulatory system, nutritional, endocrine, metabolic, digestive and respiratory systems and tumors, which are its main causes of death.
Since Mexico is in a demographic transition towards the aging of its population, the institutions investigate and discuss the challenges in health and the possible approaches to solve them.
In this regard, the Mexico´s Ministry of Health led the inauguration of the XXXII International Congress of the Mexican Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics 2018; where doctor José Narro, acknowledged that becoming an adult is an achievement, which represents a triumph in life having overcome adverse conditions, collective, family and their own, and move forward.
Over the course of three days, health professionals shared knowledge in gerontology and geriatrics, with the emphasis on prevention as a key to walk to a healthy aging, through thematic axes such as nutrition, fractures, complications and hospital readmission, cognitive impairment, among others.
According to the definition of the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, gerontology is "the science that deals with old age and the phenomena that characterize it", while geriatrics is defined as the "branch of medicine that deals with diseases of old age and its treatment ".
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