According to UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund, Vietnam is one of the countries with the fastest population aging rate in the world. With the proportion of people aged 60 and over expected to exceed 25% by 2050. By 2036, Vietnam will officially enter the stage of an aging population, shifting from an aging society to an aging society.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trung Anh - Chairman of the Vietnam Geriatric Association, Director of the Central Geriatric Hospital - shared: Aging leads to multiple diseases. Elderly people often suffer from many chronic diseases at the same time, an average of 3 diseases, and the group over 80 years old can have up to 5 - 6 diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the cost of health care for the elderly is 7 - 10 times higher than for young people, although they only account for 10% of the population, they use up to 50% of their medication. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen disease prevention to reduce the burden of health care and improve the quality of life.
One disease that needs special attention in the elderly is shingles. This is a viral disease, common in people over 50 years old, especially those with chronic diseases. zona not only causes prolonged pain but can also easily lead to skin infections, inflammation, seriously affecting health, especially in people with weakened immune systems. zona also increases indirect costs, affecting both patients and caregivers. Good prevention significantly reduces costs and social burdens.
In Vietnam, there are about 22 million people aged 18 to 69 with at least one chronic disease. Of which, more than 70% of people over 60 years old have chronic diseases, 44% have many co-morbidities.
Chronic diseases increase the risk of shingles: Chronic respiratory diseases increase the risk of shingles by 24% to 41%; Diabetes: increase by 24% to 38%; Cardiovascular disease: increase by 34%; Chronic kidney: increase by 30%; Autoimmune diseases: increase by 1.2 to 2 times.
Prolonged use of corticosteroids, psychological stress and family factors also increase the risk of shingles.
Prevention is always more effective than treatment. Sharing about this issue, Associate Professor. Dr. Le Dinh Thanh - Director of Thong Nhat Hospital - emphasized the role of medical staff: "The voice of medical staff plays an important role in building trust and encouraging patients to comply with preventive measures. Therefore, communication and training so that the medical team clearly understands the role and effectiveness of proactive prevention is necessary....
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trung Anh added: To prevent shingles in the elderly, it is necessary to focus on comprehensive health care. The important thing is to ensure a complete and balanced diet, helping to increase the body's natural resistance. At the same time, maintaining moderate exercise and exercise also contributes to rehabilitation, enhancing physical fitness and effectively supporting disease prevention".
