Average Turk lives 58 years in good health out of 80 years of life

The average lifetime of a Turkish inhabitant has risen to 80, with one living a healthy life up to the age of 58, a specialist has cautioned the lawmakers in charge of aged health.

According to Banu Ekinci, the chief of the Elderly Health section of the Directorate of Community Health, an organization associated with the country’s Health Office, the lifetime in Turkey has increased, but it is “not adequate.”

“A newborn girl is estimated to live until 80 and a baby boy till 78,” believed Ekinci in her talk to the commission members, and said: “However, a healthy life is lived till the age of  58, then the rest dribbles away facing diseases.”

Latest surveys showed that one-third of individuals in Turkey experience at least some chronic disease or other.

Ekinci added: “The rate of people between the ages of 45 and 54 having a chronic disease is 31%. 14.3% of those over 65 were having mostly three persistent diseases.”

The expert intimated the lawmakers about the directorate that will start a new comprehensive study.

“With the assistance of the family doctors, we will be keeping an eye on some 23,000 elderly people,” she noted.

The review result was to monitor the health situation of the aged people.

She highlighted the importance of the study saying, “We need to find out if the aged persons make use of  the total health services that are available in the country.”

Pınar Koçatakan, the head of the health services department, was another expert who made a presentation. She said that around 110,000 people are tested and examined by the local doctors in their homes through personal visits.

Some 49% of this number are those between the ages of 65 and 85 and some 26% are over 86.

People with disorders of the nervous system were the most affected patients who were examined at home followed by cardio-vascular problems, deformities of bones, and physical injuries.