Aging & Gerontology

Geriatrics or Geriatric Medicine refers to the medical care for the elderly people whose age is above 65 years. The healthcare professionals who specialize in Geriatric are known as Geriatricians. Geriatricians are board-certified interns or family physicians who have additional training and certification in geriatrics. As adjectives the difference between elderly and geriatric is that elderly is old; having lived for relatively many years while geriatric is of or pertaining to the elderly.

Gerontology is the study of the physical aspects of aging, as well as the mental, social and societal implications of aging. By 2050, about one-in-five Americans will be over age 65. Gerontology is the study of the physical aspects of aging, as well as the mental, social and societal implications of aging. There are numerous variables that make treating older adults different from their younger counterparts, including polypharmacy, vague presentation of symptoms, and challenges with attribution in cases where multiple health conditions are present at once. Last but not least, geriatrics emphasizes helping aging adults maintain their abilities and quality-of-life. This can be tricky as people get older, because people tend to accumulate health problems that are hard to entirely cure or reverse.

Several factors are responsible for ageing: age, sleep, dietary habits, nutrition, physical activity, general health condition, emotional well-being, physical impairment, cultural factors, life events, social support, family well-being, financial resources, cognitive functioning, and diseases. Aging can affect all of the senses, but usually hearing and vision are most affected. Devices such as glasses and hearing aids, or lifestyle changes can improve your ability to hear and see. Little can be done to slow biological aging. However, some measures can be taken to minimize the effects of certain diseases and conditions associated with aging. These measures include dietary and drug manipulations and changes in lifestyle.