Despite centuries of death records to the contrary, “dying of old age” is not medically possible; instead, it’s just a convenient catch-all.

Watch our previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyBRNZGXMu0

LEARN MORE

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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:

• Cause of death: the specific injury or disease that leads to death.
• Death certificate: an official statement, signed by a physician, of the cause, date, and place of a person's death.
• Geriatrics: a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults.
• Old age: the range of ages nearing and surpassing the life expectancy of human beings
• Senescence: the condition or process of deterioration with age.

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CREDITS

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David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES

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Adeyinka A, Bailey K. Death Certification. (2022). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526015/

Kafetz K. (2002). What happens when elderly people die?. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 95(11), 536–538. https://doi.org/10.1258/jrsm.95.11.536

Rabheru, K., Byles, J. E., & Kalache, A. (2022). How “old age” was withdrawn as a diagnosis from ICD-11. The lancet. Healthy longevity, 3(7), e457–e459. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(22)00102-7

National Center for Health Statistics. (2022). Older Persons’ Health. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/older-american-health.htm