Geriatric Conditions Strongly Associated with Disability

Adults with at least one geriatric condition are likely to need help performing activities of daily living, reports a study in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers evaluated data on some 11,000 adults aged 65 and older who were interviewed for the national Health and Retirement Study. Participants reported whether they had certain geriatric conditions (injury from falling; incontinence; low BMI; dizziness; and vision, hearing, or cognitive impairment) and whether they required help with ADLs. Among the findings:
Having even one geriatric condition, except hearing impairment, significantly increased the risk for ADL dependency.
The risk associated with geriatric conditions was similar to or greater than the risk associated with chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease).
Cognitive impairment, incontinence, and vision impairment conferred the greatest risk.
The authors note that "geriatric conditions fall outside models that now govern much of health care" and call for "an approach to [elder] care that includes the identification and management" of such conditions.