			Home About us Contact

Geriatric Syndromes (geriatric + syndrome)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

The Co-Occurrence of Chronic Diseases and Geriatric Syndromes: The Health and Retirement Study

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009
Pearl G. Lee MD
OBJECTIVES: To analyze the co-occurrence, in adults aged 65 and older, of five conditions that are highly prevalent, lead to substantial morbidity, and have evidence-based guidelines for management and well-developed measures of medical care quality. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of the 2004 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). SETTING: Nationally representative health interview survey. PARTICIPANTS: Respondents in the 2004 wave of the HRS aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported presence of five index conditions (three chronic diseases (coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and diabetes mellitus) and two geriatric syndromes (urinary incontinence and injurious falls)) and demographic information (age, sex, race, living situation, net worth, and education). RESULTS: Eleven thousand one hundred thirteen adults, representing 37.1 million Americans aged 65 and older, were interviewed. Forty-five percent were aged 76 and older, 58% were female, 8% were African American, and 4% resided in a nursing home. Respondents with more conditions were older and more likely to be female, single, and residing in a nursing home (all P<.001). Fifty-six percent had at least one of the five index conditions, and 23% had two or more. Of respondents with one condition, 20% to 55% (depending on the index condition) had two or more additional conditions. CONCLUSION: Five common conditions (3 chronic diseases, 2 geriatric syndromes) often co-occur in older adults, suggesting that coordinated management of comorbid conditions, both diseases and geriatric syndromes, is important. Care guidelines and quality indicators, rather than considering one condition at a time, should be developed to address comprehensive and coordinated management of co-occurring diseases and geriatric syndromes. [source]

Diabetes mellitus and geriatric syndromes

GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2009
Atsushi Araki
Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased prevalence and incidence of geriatric syndrome: functional disabilities, depression, fall, urinary incontinence, malnutrition and cognitive impairment. Geriatric syndrome not only leads to frailty, loss of independence and low quality of life, but also becomes a major obstacle in the treatment and care of diabetic people. The risk factors or contributing factors of geriatric symptoms are micro- and macrovascular complications, age-rated comorbid disease and aging per se. Comprehensive geriatric assessment of geriatric syndrome, including basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, gait and balance, visual acuity, the Mini-Mental State Examination, depression scores, history and risk of fall, urination and nutrition, should be performed as part of the care of elderly diabetic patients, in particular old-old patients. Because geriatric syndromes are multifactorial and share risk factors, diabetic people with any geriatric symptoms should be treated with a common concentric strategy, such as supervised exercise therapy including muscle-strengthening training, psychological support, social support for adherence, and good glycemic control with avoidance of hypoglycemia. [source]

Single pathogenesis of geriatric syndrome

GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2008
Hidetada Sasaki
First page of article [source]

Combinational Western and oriental medicine therapies for geriatric syndrome

GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2005
K Iwasaki
Oriental medicines often assist patients who cannot be treated with Western medicines. Although the exact mechanisms of oriental medicines are not known, their clinical usefulness has been proven in various diseases, including geriatric syndrome. In this review we explain progress in oriental medicine and how oriental medicines are effective in treating geriatric syndrome. [source]

Diabetes mellitus and geriatric syndromes

Management of heart failure in elderly people

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2008
M. Imazio
Summary Aims:, To review currently available knowledge on presentation, clinical features and management of heart failure (HF) in elderly people. Methods:, To review currently available evidence, we performed a thorough search of several evidence-based sources of information, including Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Clinical Evidence, Evidence-based guidelines from National Guidelines Clearinghouse and a comprehensive MEDLINE search with the MeSH terms: ,heart failure', ,elderly' and ,management'. Results:, A number of features of ageing may predispose elderly people to HF, and may impair the ability to respond to injuries. Another hallmark of elderly patients is the increasing prevalence of multiple coexisting chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes that may complicate the clinical presentation and evolution of HF. Although diagnosis may be challenging, because atypical symptoms and presentations are common, and comorbid conditions may mimic or complicate the clinical picture, diagnostic criteria do not change in elderly people. Drug treatment is not significantly different from that recommended in younger patients, and largely remains empiric, because clinical trials have generally excluded elderly people and patients with comorbid conditions. Disease management programmes may have the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality for patients with HF. Conclusions:, Heart failure is the commonest reason for hospitalisation and readmission among older adults. HF shows peculiar features in elderly people, and is usually complicated by comorbidities, presenting a significant financial burden worldwide, nevertheless elderly people have been generally excluded from clinical trials, and thus management largely remains empiric and based on evidence from younger age groups. [source]

An Overview of the Design, Implementation, and Analyses of Longitudinal Studies on Aging

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2010
Anne B. Newman MD
Longitudinal studies have contributed substantially to understanding of aging and geriatric syndromes. These efforts have provided a base of knowledge of the critical factors to consider in designing and implementing new longitudinal studies in older adults. This review highlights some of the major considerations in planning and implementing this type of study. Longitudinal studies can assess change over time and specific disease endpoints. Such projects require multidisciplinary teams with expertise in the many health and contextual factors that must be considered. Recent advances in study design include the use of imaging and biomarkers to assess mechanisms and approaches that raise the ceiling on measurement and integrate assessment of exposures over time. Study implementation requires careful planning and monitoring to maintain fidelity to the scientific goals. Analysis of longitudinal data requires approaches that account for inevitable missing data. New studies should take advantage of the experience obtained from longitudinal studies on aging already conducted. [source]

Assessment and Interpretation of Comorbidity Burden in Older Adults with Cancer

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2009
Siran M. Koroukian PhD
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations between comorbidities, functional limitations, geriatric syndromes, treatment patterns, and outcomes in a population-based cohort of older patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and receiving home health care. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Data from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System, Medicare claims and enrollment files, and the home health care Outcome and Assessment Information Set. PARTICIPANTS: Ohio residents diagnosed with incident colorectal cancer in 1999 to 2001 and receiving home health care in the 30 days before or after cancer diagnosis (N=957). MEASUREMENTS: Outcome measures included receipt of cancer treatment and survival through 2005. RESULTS: Not having surgery was associated negatively with comorbidities but positively with functional limitations and geriatric syndromes. Receipt of chemotherapy was negatively associated with comorbidities and functional limitations. The presence of two or more geriatric syndromes was significantly associated with unfavorable survival outcomes when analyzing overall survival and disease-specific survival (DSS). Having limitations in two or more activities of daily living was associated with unfavorable overall survival but not with DSS. Comorbity was associated with favorable DSS at borderline level of statistical significance but not with overall survival. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the importance of incorporating functional limitations and geriatric syndrome data in geriatric oncology outcomes studies. [source]

The Co-Occurrence of Chronic Diseases and Geriatric Syndromes: The Health and Retirement Study

Which Patients Benefit the Most from a Geriatrician's Care?

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 10 2008
Consensus Among Directors of Geriatrics Academic Programs
Given the anticipated limited availability of geriatricians for the foreseeable future, how should the geriatrician's specialized clinical skills be deployed to optimally benefit the health of our aging population? Directors of geriatrics academic programs (DGAPs) at all 145 U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools were asked this question as part of a winter 2007 on-line survey. The DGAPs were to indicate the types of patients who would most benefit from a geriatrician's services in three practice situations: primary care, consultations, and care in the hospital. The survey response rate was 74.5%. There was high consensus among the DGAPs on the benefits of having a geriatrician care for the most complex and vulnerable older adults in primary care and hospital settings. There was slightly less consensus as to when geriatrics consultations are beneficial. The patient subsets that were viewed as benefiting the most from geriatrician care were aged 85 and older, frailty, geriatric syndromes, severe functional impairment, and complexity. The results of this survey suggest that, because of the predicted shortage of geriatricians, the DGAPs would target geriatricians to work with the most vulnerable older adults. These findings offer the beginning of a consensus statement as to the role of geriatricians in the continuum of American medical care. [source]