As medical science and public health measures have brought diseases of aging and other diseases under control, the number of elderly persons has increased and will continue to do so. The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 18.5 percent increase in persons 60 years and older (45.8 to 57.1 million) and a 9.0 percent increase in persons 70 years and older (25.5 to 27.8 million) between the years 2000 and 2010. As the number of elderly increases, the need to look after them will occupy an increasing amount of the energies of physicians and the resources of society at large.
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