Elderly people

The adrenal glands and pituitary glands have the highest tissue concentration of ascorbic acid. The brain, Hver, and spleen, however, represent the largest contribution to the body pool. Plasma and leukocyte ascorbic acid levels decrease with increasing age (152). Elderly people require higher ascorbic acid intakes than children to reach the same plasma and tissue concentration (153). 

Vitamin Deficiency. Vitamin deficiency is uncommon in normal adults. However, when it does occur, it can be serious, particularly in pregnant women. Some vitamin deficiency can occur because of a large reduction of fat intake, which decreases absorption. Strict vegetarians also risk reduced vitamin intake. Premature infants and elderly people who are exposed to minimal sunlight and consume Htde vitamin also have a reduced capacity to metabolize and can develop vitamin deficiency. 

Four of the main-group cations are essential in human nutrition (Table A). Of these, the most important is Ca2+. About 90% of the calcium in the body is found in bones and teeth, largely in the form of hydroxyapatite, CatOH)2 - SCa PO. Calcium ions in bones and teeth exchange readily with those in the blood about 0.6 g of Ca2+ enters and leaves your bones every day. In a normal adult this exchange is in balance, but in elderly people, particularly women, there is sometimes a net loss of bone calcium, leading to the disease known as osteoporosis. 

Actinic keratoses are the most common epithelial precancerous lesions which occur primarily on sun-exposed skin of middle-aged and elderly people as multiple erythematous macules or papules with a dry adherent scale (Figs. 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3). 

True. See answer 2 above. However, it is sometimes recommended that elderly people use one or two units of alcohol a day to aid circulation and therefore improve general health. 

Kavanagh S, Schneider J, Knapp M, Beecham J, Netten A (1993). Elderly people with cognitive impairment costing possible changes in the balance of care. Health Social Care 1, 69-80. 

Heat can be a problem for professional athletes both in training and at competition. Heat can also be a problem for other people like elderly people, people with some diseases and children. If the body-temperature can be reduced most people would feel more comfortable, perform better, be able to keep concentrate better and for a longer time and the risks of dehydration and fatigue is reduced. New products to address this problem were developed, such as wrist-cooler, a neck-cooler, a cap and a vest (Figure 166). All these... 

In the last 20 years, an increased number of enterohemorrhagic diarrhea outbreaks have been caused by highly virulent E. coli strains. EHEC are capable of causing serious complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome in children and vascular disease in elderly people. E. coli serotype 0157 H7 has been the primary cause of outbreaks of EHEC, but other serotypes such as 026 and Olll are also a major public health concern. The Center for Disease Control has calculated that E. coli 0157 H7 is responsible for more than 70,000 infections and 60 deaths, and other EHEC strains cause approximately 36,000 illnesses and 30 deaths every year in the USA (Mead et al., 1999). In 1994 E. coli 0157 H7 was legally declared an adulterant in ground beef in the USA (USDA/FSIS Directive 10,010.1, 2004). Since then... 

Wounds can be categorized as acute (healing quickly on their own) or chronic (healing slowly, and often requiring medication). Chronic wounds, such as ulcers (Table 10.9), occur if some influence disrupts the normal healing process. Such influences can include diabetes, malnutrition, rheumatoid arthritis and ischaemia (inadequate flow of blood to any part of the body). Elderly people are particularly susceptible to developing chronic wounds, often resulting in the necessity for hospitalization. Ulceration (particularly of the limbs or extremities) associated with old age,... 

Now in her seventies, Lynn addresses her concerns regarding the lack of safe retirement homes and nursing facilities for elderly people with MCS who are unable to continue living in their own homes. 

I ve always worked. I worked in a nursing home as a nurses aide, then I went into private duty taking care of elderly people in their homes. I was healthy. I went out in public and people came into my home and I didn t have to worry about what anybody was wearing. I had a pretty good life. Then everything changed. 

The author cites the example of untreated depression in elderly people (lines 35-38) in order to... 

Bayer A and Tadd W (2000) Unjustified exclusion of elderly people from studies submitted to research ethics committee for approval descriptive study. BMJ 321(7267) 992-993... 

Bugeja G, Kumar A, Banerjee AK (1997) Exclusion of elderly people from clinical research a descriptive study of published reports. BMJ 315(7115) 1059... 

Elderly people s capacity to concentrate the urine decreases, which results in that they need larger amounts of urine to secrete the same amount of toxic waste products compared with younger adults. 

Tallis R, Boon P, Perucca E et al. (2002) Epilepsy in elderly people management issues. Epileptic Disord 4(Suppl 2) S33-S39... 

Antipsychotic medication for elderly people with schizophrenia (Marriott et al. 2006)... 

Antipsychotics may be widely used in the treatment of elderly people with schizophrenia, however, based on this systematic review, there are little robust data available to guide the clinician with respect to the most appropriate drug to prescribe. Clearly reported large short, medium and long-term randomised controlled trials with participants, interventions and primary outcomes that are familiar to those wishing to help elderly people with schizophrenia are long overdue. 

Marriott RG, Neil W, Waddingham S (2006) Antipsychotic medication for elderly people with schizophrenia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 1. Art. No. CD005580. D01 10.1002/14651858.CD005580... 

There are many different reasons why elderly people fall more easily than young people do. Chronic diseases often give rise to general weakness, less muscle strength and impaired balance which all can make falling more dangerous (Box 5.9). 

Koski K, Luukinen H, Laippala P et al. (1996) Physiological factors and medications as predictors of injurious falls by elderly people a prospective population-based study. Age Ageing 25(1) 29-38... 

Turner MD and Ship JA (2007) Dry mouth and its effects on the oral health of elderly people. J Am Dent Assoc 138(Suppl) 15S-20S... 

Abstract The health care system can help elderly people to stay healthy or to improve health if a systematic process to patient care can be provided. The first step is to look upon all new medication treatment as an experiment, and therefore continuously follow-up on the patient objectives of the treatment, documenting treatment goals and results, and communicating this with the patient and all involved health care-professionals. 

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