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Article: Aging, Drugs, and Alcohol
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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AGING, DRUGS, AND ALCOHOL
One of the most important developments of the twentieth century has been the enormous rise in worldwide population in general, and especially the survival of an estimated six hundred million people aged sixty or older (Ikels, 1991). The increase in the percentage of elderly in the total population results from medical, economic, and social factors plus a decline in the birthrate. According to 1989 U.S. Bureau of the Census figures, persons over sixty-five represented 12 percent of the U.S. population, and it is projected that this proportion will almost double by the year 2030
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since the baby-boom generation, born after 1945, will start reaching 65 in 2010.