“It ages how you feel like it, but do it well,” he said Doña Betulia To his doctor when he asked what his secret was to get so well at his age. The woman had already passed 100 years. “What a powerful message. Do it your way, but do it well, be happy, think about your well -being, that told me,” the doctor recalled Robinson Picturesprestigious Colombian Gerontologist. Doña Betulia lived until 116.
—When I turned 100, I decided to go for a walk every day, two hours with my little son, the 76
“What good, you have to move
“In addition, you have to sunbathe, Doctor, you have to get out of the house.” The house kills
“That’s very wise
“And the third, have good friends, doctor
“He didn’t tell me about the husband, nor the children. ‘Have good friends,’ he said,” the doctor recalled.
“Do you vaccinate Doña Betulia?”
“For me it is fundamental.” When I turned 100 and a doctor told me ‘and what to get vaccinated’, as if I were dying early. I said, ‘And if I live more than, doctor, I don’t deserve protection’
“That imaginary of ‘already why’ the papa Francisco. The discard culture of the elderly, as they no longer deserve to strive to cover them, to give them the best attention, it is like saying ‘and already, for what they have left life’. And this is not so. This is the great challenge. ”
The concept of inmunofitnesso “Immune Fitness”refers to the preparation of the immune system to face the Aging challenges. Over the years, the immune system loses efficacy, which makes people more vulnerable to serious diseases, especially respiratory, such as pneumonia, influenza and COVID-19. These viruses are responsible for thousands of hospitalizations and annual deaths, especially among older adults, who face a lower capacity to defend against infections.
Within the framework of world Immunization Week and the Week of Vaccination in the Americas, the Dr. Robinson PicturesColombian geriatrician, president of the Latin American and Caribbean committee of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatricshe mentioned, in dialogue with Infobaethat, although “something that worries us is how our grandparents are aging, our parents, one wonders: How am I aging? How will I get to my 70 or 80 years, What is the limit we put on when we start looking at these population pyramids in Latin America? ”
According to WHO, the global life expectancy at birth reached 73 years in 2019 And it is projected that for 2050 There will be more than 2,000 million people over 60 years in the world. The projection for Latin America, according to ECLAC, indicates that for 2050the population of people over 60 years will exceed 25% of the total.
Life expectancy continues to increase, and the question about how long we will live becomes increasingly relevant: “A child born today in Latin America, in a average economic stratum Said paintings, “he will have a 105 -year life expectancy. And we don’t have this mapped. We think we are going to die at 80, at 90. And those here, 80% are going to exceed 95 years. Under what conditions?
The answer is in immunofitness, he said, an approach that incorporates adequate nutrition, physical exercise and vaccination. Dr. Cuadros explained that, as we maintain our muscles in exercise, the immune system also needs a “training” to stay strong. “Vaccines play a crucial role when training the immune system, teaching him to defend himself better against viruses and other pathogens, ”he says.
In addition, Cuadros stressed a key premise: “Diseases are not typical of old age. diseases are builtn in adulthood and express themselves in old age. What we do today in terms of Dream, Nutrition and Physical Activity will directly influence our health, old age. “
As explained by experts within the framework of the Vaccine seminar in the course of life: protecting generations, creating future, Organized by Pfizer, in Mexico City, the risk of complications by respiratory infections It increases with age: people over 65 are the most affected. With aging comes a biological phenomenon known as Immunosenescenceexplained Dr. Cuadros, which implies the progressive decrease in the ability of the immune system.
Immunosenescence begins to notice From 60 years and manifests itself in a Virgin T lymphocyte reduction, decrease in Immune memory y Lower response to vaccines. This condition especially affects older adults, who have increasing vulnerability to respiratory infections such as flu, COVID-19 and pneumonia. According to the Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC), People over 65 are the age group more affected For this type of disease, which year after year causes a high number of hospitalizations and deaths in this age strip.
During the pandemic, for example, the COVID-19 It became the main cause of death among the elderly, since it was responsible for 80% of deaths in this group. Beyond that health crisis, Respiratory virus They explain approximately One third of all cases of pneumonia acquired in the community. For example, one of the countries that has better health data, which is the United States, estimates that the Pneumococcal pneumoniaIt affects more than 320,000 people every year in that country, causing more than 150,000 hospitalizations and about 5,000 deaths, mainly among older adults.
He Dr. Rodrigo Romeroinfectologist and director of the Association of Vaccination of Mexico explained it to it: “With vaccines what we are looking for is train our immune system. It is a training for this microorganism to know and when I know it again Eliminate as quickly as possible. That is the goal. ” And he summed it up with a personal anecdote: “My grandmother, who was very wise, when we were little, he told us, he gives you a flu and have three or four days of mucus and are removed. Your mother gives flu and has 10, 15 days with cough. It gives me flu and I no longer count it. And it is because of that immune response that each age is. But if my grandmother had been vaccinated, I would have said ‘it gives me flu and it will go the same as you’. “
The biological characteristics of the elderly – fragility, comorbidities, less immune response – generate fertile terrain for these viruses to cause severe complications. That is why organisms such as WHO and OPS insist on immunization as an essential public health tool in old age.
In this context, experts recommend annual vaccination against Influenza and Covid-19 For every person over 50 yearsalong with other immunizations such as Pneumococcus, the herpes zoster virus, cough and respiratory syncitial virus. “If you don’t remember what vaccination scheme it was applied, they can be placed again,” said paintings because “prevention is never too late.”
But the responsibility is also personal, said the Colombian expert. “Why do they have to remind me that I already vaccinated or that I did not get vaccinated? As they punish me if I do not have the technical-mechanical review of my vehicle every year, I have it a point. But why am I not responsible with my health? That is, I should have signed up when my vaccination touches. And also to be proactive, tell the doctor. ‘Hey, it’s time for my vaccine’, not so much that they are reminding you that. “
Romero agreed: “Vaccination is for a lifetime. It is not just about protecting the vaccinated, but its entire contact network. If I beef the child, I avoid taking the influence to the grandmother. And if grandmother’s beef, she also protects those around her. ”
According to paintings, “the last generation that He enjoyed care in his old age It was that of our grandmothers. We will not have to tell our children to stop living their lives to come to take care of us. That ideal of ‘My children are going to take care of me’ is no longer a reality. That is why we must ask ourselves today: How do I want to age? Who do I want to age with? Where do I want to age?”
That rethinking is urgent, because population aging advances without pause. In Latin America, In 2021 the people of 60 years and more They represented 13% of the population. By 2030, it is projected that they will arrive at 17,5%recalled paintings. But, as the same specialist explained, “we will be longest, but not old. About 80% of those over 80 years in our region are arriving in very good condition”.
The problem is that they are not fully included, said the doctor. “We are not giving them the opportunity to continue being Active part of societyto teach, to transmit knowledge. And when that does not happen, the Depressive disorders, unwanted loneliness, sleep and food problems. And in a weakened body, with immunosenescence, Any infection takes you to bed or prostration”.
“A good old age is that harvest of everything we have worked in life. That is why, when I ask you ‘How do you want to age?’, It is a decision you make today, regardless of your age,” he said paintings to this medium.
