How can we determine where a person is along Verbrugge and Jette’s continuum? The answer to this question describes a person’s functional health status, that is, how well the person is functioning in daily life. In making these assessments, it is essen­tial to differentiate the tasks a person reports he or she can do, tasks […]

As we saw earlier in this chapter, one defining characteristic of a chronic condition is that it lasts a long time. This means that for most adults, the time between the onset of a chronic condition and death is long, measured in years and even decades. Chronic diseases typically involve some level of discomfort, and […]

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • What factors are important to include in a model of disability in late life? • What is functional health? • What causes functional limitations and disability in older adults? B rian is a 68-year-old former welder who retired 3 years ago. He and his wife, Dorothy, had planned to travel in their […]

The likelihood of adverse drug reactions increases as the number of medications increases. Taking more drugs also means that keeping track of each becomes more difficult. Imagine having to keep track of six different medications, each of which has a different schedule, as presented in Table 4.2. Medication adherence (taking medications cor­rectly) becomes less likely […]

Because of their high rate of medication use, older adults also have the highest risk of adverse drug effects (Kane et al., 1994). In part, these problems result from physiological changes that occur with age in how drugs are absorbed into the body, how long they remain, and how well they work. For example, changes […]

When Lucy takes her medications every day, what happens? Understanding how medications work involves knowing the developmental changes in absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excre­tion of medications (Hacker, Messer, & Bachmann, 2009). Absorption is the time needed for one of Lucy’s medications to enter the bloodstream. For drugs taken orally, a key factor is the time […]

The explosion of new prescription and over-the — counter medications over the past few decades has created many options for physicians in treating disease, especially chronic conditions. Although advances in medication are highly desirable, there are hidden dangers for older adults. Until the late 1990s, clinical trials of new medications were not required to include […]

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • What are the developmental trends in using medication? • How does aging affect the way the medications work? • What are the consequences of medication interactions? • What are the important medication adherence issues? L ucy is an 80-year-old woman who has several chronic health problems. As a result, she takes 12 […]

One of the most unpleasant aspects of many chronic diseases is pain. Pain is disruptive, saps energy, negatively affects quality of life, and can lead to an ever-intensifying cycle of pain, anxiety, and anguish. Pain is also one of the most common complaints of older adults, and does not necessarily reflect the same things as […]

The Prostate Cancer Dilemma Roughly the size of a walnut and weighing about an ounce, the prostate gland is an unlikely candidate to create a major medical controversy. The prostate is located in front of the rectum and below the bladder and wraps around the urethra (the tube carrying urine out through the penis). Its […]