Gastroenterologic Disorders in the Elderly
Article information
J Korean Med Assoc. 2005;48(2):132-139
Publication date (electronic) : 2005 February 28
doi :
https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2005.48.2.132
Abstract
With the dramatic increase in the aging population, the practice and research on disorders in the elderly have become the topics of priority to both clinicians and researchers. Although most organ systems of the body undergo pathophysiological changes with aging, the gastroenterologic organs are known to be relatively unaffected by the aging process. This is probably due to the large functional reserve capacity of the gastroenterologic organs. Most gastroenterologic disorders occurring in younger individuals may also develop in the elderly, and for most gastroenterologists, age is hardly a dominant factor when establishing a management strategy. However, the presentation, treatment and prognosis of disease may be different between elderly and younger patients. One important thing to note is the high prevalence of certain disorders in the elderly. In this review, we focus on common gastroenterologic disorders in the Korean elderly, for example, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer, stomach cancer, colon adenoma and cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, liver and gall bladder and pancreas disorders, acute peritonitis, and some other disorders. The incidences of these disorders tend to increase with age and their pathophysiological and clinical characteristics may be different in the elderly from in young or adult people. For the better care of gastroenterologic disorders in the elderly we need to understand the pathophysiologic changes of the gastroenterologic organs associated with aging and the clinical differences of common gastroenterologic disorders in the elderly.
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