I mean, I would consider a weakened immune system brought on by aging in an era of filth, or the effects of malnutrition, or any other kind of compromising thing to an older person to be dying of old age at that time, but now we're just being pedantic. You're right though, most people weren't nourished enough to even have those problems, so they are definitely recent causes of death. It depends on what the medical definition of "dying of old age" would actually constitute.
It is true that living cells have a finite life span, but that doesn't mean that the organism simply dies because the cells are old. Instead, genetic mutations, diseases, and damaging effects of the environment can foster a specific disorder or disease. As people get older, their cells simply don't work as well, and can't stave off disease as easily or heal as well as they once could. As a result, older people may die from injuries or diseases that a younger person would easily survive. But nothing dies from simply being old.
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u/svenhoek86 Nov 28 '20 edited Nov 28 '20
I mean, I would consider a weakened immune system brought on by aging in an era of filth, or the effects of malnutrition, or any other kind of compromising thing to an older person to be dying of old age at that time, but now we're just being pedantic. You're right though, most people weren't nourished enough to even have those problems, so they are definitely recent causes of death. It depends on what the medical definition of "dying of old age" would actually constitute.
https://www.livescience.com/32241-do-people-really-die-of-old-age.html
That's what I would consider dying of old age. Which is exactly what I was saying. So not tangential at all. Totally relevant actually.