Book Description
This Research Topic is the second volume of Music Therapy in Geriatrics. Please find the first Edition here. Demographic projections estimate that by 2050, the number of people aged 65 and older in the world will soar to 1.5 billion, approximately one-third of the total population. Medical and technological advances have certainly contributed to enhanced longevity. However, with advanced age, there is a concomitant elevation in the prevalence of chronic diseases. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the U.S. found that in 2012, 60% of older adults reported at least two of the following conditions: Cancer, heart disease, emphysema or chronic bronchitis, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and Alzheimer’s disease. These diagnoses carry the extensive costs and burdens of serious illnesses, and also mean that family caregivers of loved ones with these conditions experience significant challenges, placing them at extreme risk for a variety of stress-related illnesses and afflictions, and accounting for high rates of morbidity and mortality.
