Older people are often subject to negative attitudes and this can have a major impact on their physical and mental health, a new survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed.

The survey questioned over 83,000 people in 57 countries and 60% of its respondents said that older people are not respected. The lowest levels of respect were reported in high-income countries.

According to the WHO, this can have major consequences for the physical and mental health of older people because those who feel that they are a burden to others perceive their lives to be less valuable. This puts them at an increased risk of social isolation and depression.

"Ageism can take many forms. These include depicting older people as frail, dependent and out of touch in the media, or through discriminatory practices such as health care rationing by age, or institutional policies such as mandatory retirement at a certain age.

"Society will benefit from this ageing population if we all age more healthily. But to do that, we must stamp out ageist prejudices," commented Alana Officer, the WHO's coordinator of ageing and life course.

The WHO noted that when age limits are applied, such as mandatory retirement ages, they fail to take into account the capabilities of older people. Instead, they suggest that all older people are the same.

"This deeply entrenched institutionalised ageism may be used to discriminate against older adults when allocating health resources or when collecting data that influence health policies," the WHO said.

Meanwhile, according to John Beard, the WHO's director of ageing and life course, these findings confirm that ageism is ‘extremely common', however most people ‘are complete unaware of the subconscious stereotypes they hold about other people'.

"Like sexism and racism, changing social norms is possible. It is time to stop defining people by their age. It will result in more prosperous, equitable and healthier societies," he added.

The WHO made its comments to coincide with International Day of Older Persons (October 1).