Aging is known as a process of its own, gradual, dynamic and that cannot be reversed, which implies a decrease in the capacities of the different organs and systems to present an efficient response to constant modifications in the environment or in the internal environment.. During this process, a series of biological, psychic and social elements are involved, and to date scientists have not established a single cause that explains why this event happens, but rather a series of factors that are related to one another are blamed. others. One of the main characteristics of aging is the pronounced modification of the morphological and physiological type that occurs as time passes.
It should be noted that knowledge of the physiological changes that are linked to age offers the possibility of making a difference between the characteristics of the aging process and those signs and symptoms of diseases that are not related to aging, such as dementia and anemia to name a few. There is no doubt, then, that the multiplicity of problems that usually affect older adults require the consideration of all biological, psychological, social and economic aspects from an individual point of view independently of each one of them.
In human beings the aging process, according to the opinion of various specialists, begins at the age of 40, in such a way that between 40 and 60 years it is recommended that people take the necessary measures to ensure successful aging, that is to say, to be able to extend life expectancy without suffering from diseases or, failing that, to reduce them as much as possible.
It is very important to be able to differentiate two terms that are closely related to aging, these are chronological age and biological age:
For its part, chronological age is the age of a person based on the time that has elapsed since the day of their birth, in other words it can be said that it is the age in years of an individual. In exchange biological age is that which corresponds to the state functional organs compared to standard patterns for a specific age.