Amanda Rees, Elliot K Fishman, Linda C Chu, Steven P Rowe, Ryan C Rizk
J Am Coll Radiol . 2024 Nov;21(11):1830-1831. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2024.03.013. Epub 2024 Mar 26.
According to the World Health Organization, “Ageism refers to stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel), and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age” [1]. Our own internalized beliefs also play an important role. Beliefs that we have about aging, maybe before identifying as an older adult, greatly influence how we age. A recent study examining ageism and the prevalence of health conditions looked at ways to quantify ageism and tied it to health care costs [2]. Surprisingly, an estimated $63 billion, or $1 in every $7 spent on the top eight health conditions, could be attributed to internalized ageism or ageist treatment.