Geriatrics

In addition to medical diseases, psychological, social, cognitive, and functional issues influence the health of older persons. Therefore, the traditional medical assessment alone is often not enough to evaluate the older population with multiple comorbidities. Out of this recognized need, the geriatric assessment has been developed, which emphasizes a broader approach to evaluating contributors to health in older persons. Geriatric assessment uses specific tools to help determine patient's status across several different dimensions, including assessment of medical, cognitive, affective, social, economic, environmental, spiritual, and functional status...

Celiac sprue is a chronic disease, which usually occurs in children and young adults. However, it can develop in any age group, and the prevalence is increasing even in the elderly population. The atypical patterns of clinical presentation in this age group sometimes can cause a delay in diagnosis. Given the lower sensitivity and specificity of serological tests in the aged population, clinical suspect often arises in the presence of complications (autoimmune disorders, fractures, and finally, malignancy) and must be supported by endoscopic and imaging tools...

Older people frequently fail to ingest adequate amount of food to meet their essential energy and nutrient requirements. Anorexia of aging, defined by decrease in appetite and/or food intake in old age, is a major contributing factor to under-nutrition and adverse health outcomes in the geriatric population. This disorder is indeed highly prevalent and is recognized as an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality in different clinical settings. Even though anorexia is not an unavoidable consequence of aging, advancing age often promotes its development through various mechanisms...