The elderly patient and multiple disease.
Effective management of the elderly depends on recognition of the distinction between disability and diseases which cause it and the assessment of the disability, both physical and mental, on a functional basis. The decline in physiological and mental performance and impaired homeostasis with age are discussed. The main factors which favour the development of multiple diseases in the elderly are summarized and the implications for treatment considered. The importance of early detection of disease and adequate treatment is stressed, but this is often made difficult due to the fact that many of the disabilities of the elderly living at home go unreported to the general practitioner.
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D004194:Disease; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male