Elderly Flashcards
What are the five I’s?
Intellectual impairment Immobility Instability (falls) Incontinence Iatrogenic disease (mainly drug induced)
What is primary ageing?
Frailty as a direct result of getting older
What is secondary ageing?
As a result of disease and poor health practices
Benefits of ageing
Increased experiential learning
Neutral effects of ageing
Grey hair
Pastime preference
Detrimental effects of ageing
Hypertension
Decreased reaction time
What are the theories of ageing?
Stochastic
Programmed
Homeostatic failure
What occurs in the physiology of ageing?
Affects virtually every organ/system
Marked inter-individual variability in both development and magnitude of changes
Inter-individual variability increases with age
Evidence very limited for 80+
Why would serum creatinine be the same in older people even if they had reduced kidney function?
Less muscle mass so smaller creatinine breakdown
What is frailty
Progressive dyshomeostasis
What is “social” dyshomeostasis?
Difficulty caused by environmental insults not only bio-medical
Ageing often associated with whole system dyshomeostasis
Different ability to compensate for e.g. death of spouse or daughter going on holiday
What is the evidencve gap and why is it a problem?
Many conditions are more common in older people but there are fewer trials of medications in older people
