Age 80+

In the United States, most people younger than 85 report no difficulty in ADLs(Activities of Daily Living). However, this decreases with age, so that 78% of those aged 85 and older report some difficulty. Older women have more limitations at all ages than do older men. There are also differences between racial and ethnic groups. For example, among people aged 70 and older, black Americans were 1.5 times as likely as white Americans to be unable to perform one or more ADLs.

Assistance from Others: Elderly people who need assistance with routine ADLs rely first and foremost on family. In 1995, three-fourths of people who helped elderly city dwellers (aged 70 or older) were unpaid or informal caregivers. Nine out of ten of these informal caregivers were family members (one-fourth spouses and about half children), and half lived with the elderly person. The use of paid helpers is consistently higher among older adults living alone and increases with age. Does your current home accommodate your needs, as well as other family members and caregivers? Evolutionary Lifestyle Home Design™ makes your home adaptable for everyone; your home “evolves” and changes with your needs and lifestyle at all ages. Evolutionary Lifestyle Home Design™ can help modify your current home, with the principals of Universal design making them virtually invisible in your home, so that is usable by most people regardless of their age, agility, and physical or sensory abilities. It can be fashionably designed and adapted, so you and your family can live more independently, safely, and efficiently, for the way you want or need to live, in your home for life, but without it ever looking institutional.

Marital Status and Living Arrangements
Most elderly people in the United States under the age of 85 are married and living with their spouse. Not surprisingly, because women in general have a longer life expectancy, elderly men are twice as likely to be married as are elderly women. Conversely, widowhood is much more common among elderly women.
Elderly people who live alone, often having lost a spouse, usually prefer to remain independent and continue living alone as long as their health and finances allow it. Many who live alone have families or friends nearby, and about three in five have lived in the same place for 10 years or more.

Learn More...