Noun

gerontology (uncountable)

1. the study of the elderly, and of the aging process itself.
2. the branch of science that deals with the problems of aged people. It is to be distinguished from geriatrics, which is the study of the diseases of the elderly. Gerontology covers the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.

Gerontology (from Greek: γέρων, geron, "old man" and -λογία, -logy, "study of") is the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging. It is distinguished from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that studies the disease of the elderly.

Gerontology includes these and other endeavors:

• studying physical, mental, and social changes in people as they age;
• investigating the aging process itself (biogerontology);
• investigating the interface of normal aging and age-related disease (geroscience);
• investigating the effects of our aging population on society, including the fiscal effects of pensions, entitlements, life and health insurance, and retirement planning;
• applying this knowledge to policies and programs, including a macroscopic (i.e. government planning) and microscopic (i.e. running a nursing home) perspective.

The multidisciplinary focus of gerontology means that there are a number of sub-fields, as well as associated fields such as psychology and sociology that also cross over into gerontology. However, that there is an overlap should not imply that they are the same. For example, a psychologist may specialize in early adults (and not be a gerontologist) or specialize in older adults (and be a gerontologist).

The field of gerontology was developed relatively late, and as such often lacks the structural and institutional support needed. (For example, relatively few universities offer a Ph.D. in gerontology.) However, the huge increase in the elderly population in the post-industrial Western nations has led to this becoming one of the most rapidly growing fields. Gerontology is currently a well-paying field for many in the West.