Abstract

Modern gerontology has debunked the myth of old age as a period of inevitable decline. But what science has not been able to change is the reality that old age often is a time of illness and disability, particularly for the oldest old—those over age 85. The vaunted compression of morbidity hasn't happened; while the period of decline before death may have shrunk, it hasn't vanished. The trajectory in the last phase of life is rarely a precipice, with older people living healthy lives until, abruptly, they fall off a cliff. Rather, it typically takes the form of a series of dips that return to an ever-lowering baseline or a slow fade.The...