Centre for Policy on Ageing



How should clinical care of the aged differ?
Author(s)	Neil M Resnick, Edward R Marcantonio
Journal title	The Lancet, vol 350, no 9085, 18 October 1997
Pages	pp 1157-1158 (Ageing today and tomorrow)
Keywords	Health [elderly] ; Ill health ; Medical care ; Therapeutics.
Annotation	Individuals become more dissimilar as they age, belying stereotypes of ageing, with implications for clinical care. This article focuses on the six principles of care for elderly people. First, disease often presents at an earlier stage in older people. Presentation of a new disease depends on the organ system made most vulnerable by previous changes, and is often atypical. Many findings that are abnormal in younger patients are common in older people, and may not be responsible for a particular symptom. Because comorbid disease and drug use are common in older people, symptoms are often due to multiple causes. Because many homeostatic mechanisms are often compromised concurrently, there are usually multiple abnormalities amenable to treatment, and small improvements in each may yield dramatic benefits overall. Lastly, because older patients are more likely than younger ones to suffer adverse consequences of disease, treatment (and even prevention) may be equally or even more effective.
Accession Number	CPA-971201011 A
Classmark	CC: CH: LK: LL *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.