Older people: key points

• Scotland’s population, like that of the UK, is ageing.
• The prevalence and incidence of most health conditions rises with increasing age (e.g. cancer, coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes).
• Causes of death change with increasing age. Cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease cause a higher proportion of mortality in older people than in younger people.
• Pensioner poverty, a key determinant of ill-health and life expectancy, has been stable in recent years.