Geriatric syndrome is a catch-all term used to describe clinical conditions in older adults that don’t fall into discrete disease categories, such as delirium, falls, incontinence and frailty. These conditions are highly prevalent, multifactorial, and associated with substantial morbidity and poor outcomes.
Deeper dive
Four shared risk factors—older age, baseline cognitive impairment, baseline functional impairment, and impaired mobility—were identified across five common geriatric syndromes (pressure ulcers, incontinence, falls, functional decline, and delirium) according to geriatrician Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and the Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Mass.
Multiple underlying factors, involving multiple organ systems, tend to contribute to geriatric syndromes. Frequently the primary symptom is not related to the specific pathological condition underlying the change in health status. For example, when an infection involving the urinary tract causes delirium, it is the altered neural function in the form of cognitive and behavioral changes that permits the diagnosis of delirium and determines many functional outcomes. Because these syndromes cross organ systems and transcend discipline-based boundaries, they challenge traditional ways of planning and delivering clinical care, according to the New York/New Jersey VA.
One recent study found the presence of geriatric syndromes is associated with incident chronic health conditions, specifically cardiovascular conditions and diabetes. Comprehensive assessments geriatric syndromes may help prevent or delay development of chronic health conditions, according to the researchers. They called for physicians to increase awareness and evaluation of older people with geriatric syndromes.