The ICD provides a common language for recording, reporting and monitoring diseases and health related conditions. This allows the world to compare and share data in a consistent and standard way – between hospitals, regions and countries and over periods of time. It facilitates the collection and storage of data for analysis and evidence-based decision-making.

• ICD is not classifying “old age” as a disease. The relevant category serves quality control, it serves to code unclear statements made by physicians on death certificates or medical records.
• The term “old age” had replaced “senility” in the label of this ICD category that had been in place for 50 years, because “senility” had gotten a negative connotation over time.
• A proposal for an alternative to "old age" had been received on the ICD proposal platform and a process with several stakeholders had been put in place to change the naming of the category of ICD-11 to prevent future misunderstandings
  
• The new label of the category is  “Ageing associated decline in intrinsic capacity” .
• The term “old age” is retained for indexing only. Indexing is necessary, because this term is used in records by physicians, and coders need to be guided.