Why Seniors are at Risk for Covid-19?

Reminding that there may be functional losses even if there is no chronic disease accompanying people over 65, Internal Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Yaşar Küçükardalı said that these losses with age still bring the person vulnerable to diseases.

The elderly are at the top of the risk factors for Covid-19 infection. Reminding that there may be functional losses even if there is no chronic disease accompanying people over 65, Internal Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Yaşar Küçükardalı said that these losses with age still bring the person vulnerable to diseases.

In our country, people over 65 years of age who have undergone this process in their homes due to curfew are in the risky group in terms of Covid-19 infection. Again, risk may increase as there may be contact risk in areas such as nursing homes and nursing homes, which is one of the areas where this age group lives together. However, Yeditepe University Kozyatağı Hospital Internal Diseases Specialist Professor, who said that the picture is quite good in this sense in our country. Dr. Yaşar Küçükardalı said, “Thankfully, there is no negative news about our 36 thousand elderly living in nursing homes and nursing homes in our country. This shows us that our elders, our elders are cared for in the private nursing homes and nursing homes of both the public and foundations. ”Perhaps one reason is that the vast majority of our elderly have social security and are easily admitted to hospitals under any state health problem. " said.

“IMPORTANT IS BIOLOGICAL AGE”

Prof. Covid-19 gives information about the course of the elderly. Dr. Pointing out that the main point at this point is the person's biological age rather than chronological age, Küçükardalı said:

“Aging is actually a physiological process. As we get older, there are anatomical, functional and biological partial losses in our organs and systems. physiological aging does not make the person dependent on another, and old age is a relative condition. Some are 80 years old, but they are as healthy as a 50-year-old person, while others are 50 years old, and their body is worn like an 80-year-old person. The important thing is biological age. ”

FUNCTIONAL LOSSES EXPERIENCE IN PEOPLE OVER 65 YEARS

In the chronological age assessment, the age limit of 65 is accepted. They are called “young” aged between 65-75 years old, “middle” aged between 75-85 years old and “advanced” aged over 85. Professor Dr. According to the information given by Yaşar Küçükardalı, even if there is no chronic disease accompanying people over 65, both the functional loss and the immune system are weakened. Both natural immunity and acquired immunity are weakened with age. balanced nutrition, decreased number of immune cells and aging play a role in this.

FUNCTIONAL LOSSES MAKE OLD PEOPLE FRAGILE

In the Covid-19 epidemic, Yeditepe University Hospital Internal Medicine Specialist, who summarizes the features that make elderly individuals more risky, primarily having chronic diseases, biological aging and weakening of the immune system. Dr. Yaşar Küçükardalı continued his words as follows;

“The lymphocyte count of a 40 year old person and the lymphocyte count of an 80 year old person are not the same. Again, the natural immunity of a 40 year old individual and an 80 year old person, ie the body's capacity to fight microorganism, is not the same. It is natural for functional losses to occur with age. For example, the filtering capacity of our kidneys decreases by 40 ml every year after the age of 1. Normally this rate is 120 ml per minute. However, in an 80-year-old individual, this cannot be expected to be 120 ml. Therefore, functional losses that occur with the advancement of age can make the person fragile. Because of these effects, the risk of elderly people getting diseases increases. The total loss of functional losses in organs and systems in the elderly shows an accelerated increase, not a mathematical increase. The overall effect is much higher than expected. the thought is likely to be broken, the healing time of the fracture is long, the long bed period increases the risk of pressure sores. This way the domino effect is observed. ”