Aging has now become a universal phenomenon of increasing importance both in developed and developing countries. Brazil is a huge country with more than 120 million inhabitants. Those in the 60-year-old-and-over age group represent, according to the latest census (1980), 6.5% of the population (Anuário Estatístico do Brasil, 1986, 1987). Since 1900 the percentage of persons 60 years and older has doubled (3.2% in 1900 to 6.5% in 1980) and nominally has increased 13 times (from 0.6 million to 7.7 million) (Anuário Estatístico do Brasil, 1986, 1987). A child born in 1980 can expect to live 63.5 years, about 18.6 years longer than a child born in 1940 (Fundação IBGE, 1984). The major part of this increase occurred due to lower mortality rates for young adults and children.