Disorders in Older People: The Aging Body: Merck Manual Home Edition


	Sections		Older People's Health Issues

	Chapters		The Aging Body

Disorders in Older People

Some disorders occur almost exclusively in older people. They are sometimes called geriatric syndromes (geriatric refers to the medical care of older people).

Other disorders affect people of all ages but may cause different symptoms or complications in older people. The following are some examples:

Underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism): Usually, younger people gain weight and feel sluggish. In older people, the first or main symptom may be confusion.
Overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism): Usually, younger people become agitated and lose weight. In contrast, older people may become sleepy, withdrawn, depressed, and confused.
Depression: Usually, younger people become tearful, withdrawn, and noticeably unhappy. Sometimes older people do not seem unhappy. Instead, they become confused, forgetful, and listless, lose interest in their usual activities, or seem lonely.
Heart attack: Usually, younger people have chest pain. Older people may not have chest pain but may have difficulty breathing or abdominal pain. They may sweat profusely, suddenly feel tired, pass out, or become confused.
Abdominal perforation: An organ in the digestive tract, such as the stomach or intestine, occasionally tears (perforates), causing widespread serious infection in the abdominal cavity. Usually, younger people have severe abdominal pain and fever, and the abdomen feels tight. In contrast, older people may have none of these symptoms. Instead, they may become confused or feel very weak.

The confusion that these disorders cause in older people is often mistaken for dementia.

Older people often have more than one disorder at a time. Each disorder may affect the other. For example, depression may make dementia worse, and an infection may make diabetes worse.

However, disorders no longer have the same devastating or incapacitating effects that they once had in older people. Disorders that were once likely to result in death for older people, such as heart attacks, hip fractures, and pneumonia, can often be treated and controlled. With treatment, many people with chronic disorders, such as diabetes, kidney disorders, and coronary artery disease, can remain functional, active, and independent.

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Some Disorders That Affect Mainly Older People
Disorder	Description
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias	Memory and other mental functions are progressively lost.
Aortic aneurysm	The wall of the aorta bulges. If untreated, an aneurysm can rupture and lead to death.
Atrophic urethritis and vaginitis	Tissues in the urethra thin, sometimes causing burning during urination.Tissues in the vagina thin, sometimes causing pain during intercourse.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia	The prostate gland enlarges, blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder.
Cataracts	The lens of the eye clouds, impairing vision.
Diabetes, type 2	The body does not respond to the insulin it produces. This disorder usually begins during middle age. Treatment with insulin may not be required.
Glaucoma	The optic nerve is damaged because pressure in part of the eye is elevated. Vision is progressively reduced, and blindness can result. Glaucoma usually begins during middle age.
Osteoarthritis	The cartilage that lines the joints degenerates, causing pain. Osteoarthritis usually begins during middle age.
Osteoporosis	Bones become less dense and more fragile. As a result, fractures are more likely.
Parkinson's disease	Nerve cells in the brain degenerate slowly and progressively, causing tremor, stiff (rigid) muscles, and difficulty moving and maintaining balance.
Pressure sores	The skin breaks down because prolonged pressure reduces blood flow to the affected area.
Prostate cancer	Cancer develops in the prostate gland and eventually interferes with the flow of urine.
Shingles (herpes zoster)	The chickenpox virus from an earlier infection is reactivated, causing blisters and sometimes long-lasting, excruciating pain.
Stroke	A blood vessel in the brain is blocked or ruptures. A stroke causes symptoms such as weakness or loss of sensation on one side of the body, problems with vision in one eye, difficulty speaking or understanding, loss of balance or coordination, or sudden severe headache.
Urinary incontinence	The flow of urine cannot be controlled, resulting in leakage.

Some Disorders That Affect Mainly Older People

Disorder

Description

Alzheimer's disease and other dementias	Memory and other mental functions are progressively lost.
Aortic aneurysm	The wall of the aorta bulges. If untreated, an aneurysm can rupture and lead to death.
Atrophic urethritis and vaginitis	Tissues in the urethra thin, sometimes causing burning during urination.Tissues in the vagina thin, sometimes causing pain during intercourse.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia	The prostate gland enlarges, blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder.
Cataracts	The lens of the eye clouds, impairing vision.
Diabetes, type 2	The body does not respond to the insulin it produces. This disorder usually begins during middle age. Treatment with insulin may not be required.
Glaucoma	The optic nerve is damaged because pressure in part of the eye is elevated. Vision is progressively reduced, and blindness can result. Glaucoma usually begins during middle age.
Osteoarthritis	The cartilage that lines the joints degenerates, causing pain. Osteoarthritis usually begins during middle age.
Osteoporosis	Bones become less dense and more fragile. As a result, fractures are more likely.
Parkinson's disease	Nerve cells in the brain degenerate slowly and progressively, causing tremor, stiff (rigid) muscles, and difficulty moving and maintaining balance.
Pressure sores	The skin breaks down because prolonged pressure reduces blood flow to the affected area.
Prostate cancer	Cancer develops in the prostate gland and eventually interferes with the flow of urine.
Shingles (herpes zoster)	The chickenpox virus from an earlier infection is reactivated, causing blisters and sometimes long-lasting, excruciating pain.
Stroke	A blood vessel in the brain is blocked or ruptures. A stroke causes symptoms such as weakness or loss of sensation on one side of the body, problems with vision in one eye, difficulty speaking or understanding, loss of balance or coordination, or sudden severe headache.
Urinary incontinence	The flow of urine cannot be controlled, resulting in leakage.

Looking for the Fountain of Youth

Everyone wants to know how to stay young and live longer. Researchers are looking at genes, cells, hormones, eating patterns, and other factors for clues about what causes aging and how to prevent or slow it. Research has identified three strategies that may help people live longer:

Exercising
Following certain types of diets
Eating fewer calories

People who exercise are healthier than those who do not. Exercise has many established health benefits: improving and maintaining the ability to do daily activities, maintaining a healthy weight, and helping prevent or postpone disorders such as coronary artery disease and diabetes.

People who eat a low-fat diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables are healthier than people who eat more fat and starch. Also, people who live in Mediterranean countries and consume the so-called Mediterranean diet seem to live longer. This diet is generally thought to be healthier than northern European and American diets because it consists of more grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and fish and less red meat. In addition, the main fat consumed is olive oil. Olive oil contains many vitamins and is monounsaturated rather than saturated. Monounsaturated fats do not increase cholesterol the way saturated fats do.

Following a low-calorie diet for a lifetime may lead to longer life, possibly because it slows the body's metabolism, reduces the number of certain damaging substances in the body, or both. These damaging substances, called free radicals, are by-products of the normal activity of cells. The damage done to cells by free radicals is thought to contribute to aging and to disorders such as coronary artery disease and cancer. But no studies to test whether a low-calorie diet could prolong life have been done in people.

These three strategies would require a major change in lifestyle for most people. Consequently, many people look for other, less demanding ways to prevent or slow aging. For example, they may look for other ways to manage free radicals. Substances called antioxidants can neutralize free radicals and thus help prevent damage to cells. Vitamins C and E are antioxidants. So some people take large amounts of these vitamins as supplements in the hope of slowing the aging process. Other antioxidants, such as beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A), are sometimes taken as supplements. In theory, using antioxidants to prevent aging makes sense. However, no studies have shown that antioxidants taken as supplements prevent or slow aging. Evidence that they protect against disorders such cancer, heart attack, stroke, or cancer is inconclusive. Also, such supplements have not been proved to be harmless.

Levels of some hormones decrease as people age. Thus, people may try to delay or slow aging by taking supplements of these hormones. Examples are testosterone, estrogen, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), human growth hormone, and melatonin. But whether hormonal supplements have any effect on aging is unknown, and some of them have known risks. Also, some experts believe that decreases in certain hormone levels may actually prolong life by slowing the body's metabolism.

Some people believe that Eastern practices, such as yoga, tai chi, and qigong, can prolong life. These practices are based on the principle that health involves the whole person (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual) and balance within the body. The practices may include relaxation, breathing techniques, diet, and meditation as well as exercise. They are safe for older people and probably make them feel better. But whether these practices prolong life is difficult to prove.

Last full review/revision August 2007 by Richard W. Besdine, MD

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