Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of the elderly. The term geriatrics originates from the Greek γέρων geron meaning "old man", and ιατρός iatros meaning "healer". It aims to promote health by preventing, diagnosing and treating disease in older adults. There is no defined age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or geriatric physician, a physician who specializes in the care of older people. Rather, this decision is guided by individual patient need and the caregiving structures available to them. This care may benefit those who are managing multiple chronic conditions or experiencing significant age-related complications that threaten quality of daily life. Geriatric care may be indicated if caregiving responsibilities become increasingly stressful or medically complex for family and caregivers to manage independently.
Polypharmacy (polypragmasia) is an umbrella term to describe the simultaneous use of multiple medicines by a patient for their conditions. The term polypharmacy is often defined as regularly taking five or more medicines but there is no standard definition and the term has also been used in the context of when a person is prescribed 2 or more medications at the same time. Polypharmacy may be the consequence of having multiple long-term conditions, also known as multimorbidity and is more common in people who are older. In some cases, an excessive number of medications at the same time is worrisome, especially for people who are older with many chronic health conditions, because this increases the risk of an adverse event in that population. In many cases, polypharmacy cannot be avoided, but 'appropriate polypharmacy' practices are encouraged to decrease the risk of adverse effects. Appropriate polypharmacy is defined as the practice of prescribing for a person who has multiple conditions or complex health needs by ensuring that medications prescribed are optimized and follow 'best evidence' practices.
The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is one of the seventeen academic divisions of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, focusing on undergraduate and graduate programs in gerontology.
Robert Neil Butler was an American physician, gerontologist, psychiatrist, and author, who was the first director of the National Institute on Aging. Butler is known for his work on the social needs and the rights of the elderly and for his research on healthy aging and the dementias.
Multimorbidity, also known as multiple long-term conditions (MLTC), means living with two or more chronic illnesses. For example, a person could have diabetes, heart disease and depression at the same time. Multimorbidity can have a significant impact on people's health and wellbeing. It also poses a complex challenge to healthcare systems which are traditionally focused on individual diseases. Multiple long-term conditions can affect people of any age, but they are more common in older age, affecting more than half of people over 65 years old.
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a non-profit professional society founded on June 11, 1942, for health care professionals practicing geriatric medicine. Among the founding physicians were Dr. Ignatz Leo Nascher, who coined the term "geriatrics", Dr. Malford W. Thewlis, who was named the first executive secretary of the Society, and Dr. Lucien Stark who was appointed the first AGS president.
Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that embodies an elevated risk of catastrophic declines in health and function among older adults. Frailty is a condition associated with ageing, and it has been recognized for centuries. It is a marker of a more widespread syndrome of frailty, with associated weakness, slowing, decreased energy, lower activity, and, when severe, unintended weight loss. As a frequent clinical syndrome in the elderly, various health risks are linked to health deterioration and frailty in older age, such as falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Generally, frailty refers to older adults who lose independence. It also links to the experiences of losing dignity due to social and emotional isolation risk. Frailty has been identified as a risk factor for the development of dementia.
The Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Columbia University. Located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, the school is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.
Geriatric medicine, as a speciality, was introduced in Egypt in 1982, and in 1984 a geriatrics and gerontology unit in Ain Shams University Faculty of Medicine was established.
Becca R. Levy is a professor of Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She is a leading researcher in the fields of social gerontology and psychology of aging. She is credited with creating the field of how age stereotypes, which are assimilated from the culture, impact the health of older individuals. The Dean of Columbia School of Public Health describes Levy as "a pioneer" in the "growing body of impressive research showing that our attitudes toward aging affect our health, our resilience in the face of adversity, and our very survival."
Ursula M. Staudinger is a German psychologist and researcher of aging. She is the rector of the Technical University of Dresden (TUD). She was Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of Psychology at the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University. Between 2013 and 2017 Staudinger was the founding director of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and president of the affiliated International Longevity Center.
The John A. Hartford Foundation is a private United States-based philanthropy whose current mission is to improve the care of older adults. For many years, it made grants for research and education in geriatric medicine, nursing and social work. It now focuses on three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers and improving serious illness, and end-of-life care.
An adult-gerontology nurse practitioner (AGNP) is a nurse practitioner that specializes in continuing and comprehensive healthcare for adults across the lifespan from adolescence to old age.
Alexandre Kalache is a medical epidemiologist specializing in the study of aging. Since 2012 he is President of the International Longevity Centre-Brazil and since 2015 co-President of the Global Alliance of International Longevity Centres (ILC-GA). He formerly directed the World Health Organization global ageing programme at its Geneva headquarters following an academic career largely at the Universities of London and Oxford in the United Kingdom. Kalache has researched, written and spoken in the field of ageing issues as an academic, an international civil servant and an advocate.
Marie A. Bernard, M.D. is the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to this, she was the deputy director of the National Institute on Aging at the NIH, where she oversaw approximately $3.1 billion in research focused on aging and Alzheimer's disease. Bernard co-leads the NIH UNITE initiative, launched in 2021 to end structural racism in biomedicine. She co-chairs the Inclusion Governance Committee, which promotes inclusion in clinical research by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and age. She also co-chairs two of the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020 objectives: 1) Older Adults, and 2) Dementias, including Alzheimer's disease. Prior to arriving at NIH in 2008, Bernard served as Donald W. Reynolds Chair in Geriatric Medicine and founding chairperson of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Anne B. Newman is an American scientist who researches epidemiology and gerontology. She received her Bachelor's, Master's and M.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Newman's primary focus of study is on atherosclerosis, longevity and what specific factors allow for people to thrive while aging. She focuses on geriatrics, gerontology and epidemiology. She was the first scholar to be awarded the Katherine M. Detre Endowed Chair of Population Health Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been listed on the annual ISI Web of Knowledge most highly cited scientists for 2015, as published by Thomson Reuters. Newman is a member of the Delta Omega Honor Society in Public Health and the American Epidemiology Society. Newman's highest qualifications are in geriatric medicine and her certification is through the American Board of Internal Medicine. Newman lives in Point Breeze Pennsylvania with her husband, Frank Kirkwood. She is a mother of three.
Age-related mobility disability is a self-reported inability to walk due to impairments, limited mobility, dexterity or stamina. It has been found mostly in older adults with decreased strength in lower extremities.
The Medication Appropriateness Tool for Comorbid Health conditions during Dementia (MATCH-D) criteria supports clinicians to manage medication use specifically for people with dementia without focusing only on the management of the dementia itself.
The Thai frailty index is the index commonly used to measure frailty in Thailand. It consists of 30 variables, including hypertension; diabetes; stroke; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; chronic kidney disease, cognitive impairment; falls; dental problems; hearing problems; underweight; urinary or fecal incontinence; poor quality of life; depressed mood; fatigue; sleep problems, needing help for bathing; dressing, eating; walking; toileting; drug management; and doing housework. The index ranges from 0 to 30, 30 being the highest level of frailty. The index can be used to predict all-cause mortality.
Sharon Kiyomi Inouye is an American geriatrician. She is the Director of the Aging Brain Center at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, as well as a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her career has focused on maintaining healthy brain aging, preventing delirium and functional decline, and optimizing healthcare for older adults. Her recent work has focused on healthy longevity and combating ageism.
