[How to avoid overmedicalization of the elderly patient ?]

Over-medicalization is a broad concept, which also concerns the elderly patient. It encompasses both over-diagnosis and over-treatment. An increasing awareness of this issue has emerged since 2013, with the first " Preventing Overdiagnosis " conference. Currently, Evidence-Based Medicine does not prevent over-diagnosis. Indeed, the presence of geriatric characteristics such as multiple comorbidities, polypharmacy and frailty can lead to misdiagnosis and to potentially deleterious treatment. Subclinical hypothyroidism and Alzheimer's disease are two examples of pitfalls in the interpretation of biological and para-clinical data that may lead to the administration of useless treatment. Different issues are discussed to identify the causes of over-medicalization and to better prevent it.