Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Here's how to distinguish "sundowning"—agitation or confusion later in the day in dementia patients—from typical aging, from doctors who treat older adults.
Individuals may become fairly frustrated with their own confusion as well as aggravated by noise. Individuals being found yelling and becoming increasingly upset with their caregivers are not uncommon. [4] [5] Mental and physical fatigue increase with the setting of the sun. This fatigue can play a role in the individual's irritability. [4] [5]
Late-life depression refers to depression occurring in older adults and has diverse presentations, including as a recurrence of early-onset depression, a new diagnosis of late-onset depression, and a mood disorder resulting from a separate medical condition, substance use, or medication regimen. [1]
Delirium occurs in 11–51% of older adults after surgery, in 81% of those in the ICU, and in 20–22% of individuals in nursing homes or post-acute care settings. [3] Among those requiring critical care, delirium is a risk factor for death within the next year. [3] [13]
Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, [1] is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults [2] 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. [3]
Frailty or frailty syndrome refers to a state of health in which older adults gradually lose their bodies' in-built reserves and functioning. This makes them more vulnerable, less able to recover and even apparently minor events (infections, environmental changes) can have drastic impacts on their physical and mental health.
Specific manifestations vary by age and by the severity of the hypoglycemia. In older children and adults, moderately severe hypoglycemia can resemble mania, mental illness, drug intoxication, or drunkenness. In the elderly, hypoglycemia can produce focal stroke-like effects or a hard-to-define malaise.
In chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, the CDC's recommended criteria for diagnosis [38] include that one of the following symptoms must be present: [38] Problems with thinking and memory (cognitive dysfunction, sometimes described as "brain fog")