July 2018 issue of Age and Ageing journal is out now

The July 2018 issue of Age and Ageing, the journal of the British Geriatrics Society is out now.  A full table of contents is available here, with editorials, research papers, reviews, short reports, case reports book reviews and more.  

Hot topics in this issue include:

• Blood pressure targets in treatment of hypertension
• Falls prevention
• Probiotics and prevention of infection
• Improving healthcare outcomes in care homes
• Caregiver relationships and Parkinson’s disease

The Editor’s View article gives an overview of the issue with a summary of highlights. This article is free to read and can be viewed here.

May 2018 issue of Age and Ageing journal is out now

The May 2018 issue of Age and Ageing, the journal of the British Geriatrics Society is out now.  A full table of contents is available here, with editorials, research papers, reviews, short reports, case reports book reviews and more.  

Hot topics in this issue include:

• New pain assessment guideline
• Future population burden of
  multimorbidity
• Systemic anti-cancer treatment for
  older people
• Treating malnutrition in care homes
• Effects of different types of
  exercise in older people
• Research methods – diagnostic test
  accuracy studies

The Editor’s View article gives an overview of the issue with a summary of highlights. This article is free to read and can be viewed here.

Assessment of pain in older adults with dementia – there’s an app for that

Professor Pat Schofield leads research around pain, ageing and dementia at the University of Greenwich. She is the Chair of the Pain in Older People SIG at the British Pain Society. She describes the development and initial trial of a new Pain App that is targeted at frail, older patients.  

Pain in the older population is a common problem, and can be under-recognised and under-treated. Recent prevalence studies suggest that chronic pain exists in over 50% of community dwelling older adults and this increases to over 80% when we look at those living in long term care. We also know that the incidence of dementia in the UK and the rest of the world is high and set to increase significantly over the next 20 years.

‘Pain in older people is under-recognised and under–treated’

Pain in older people is under-recognised and under-treated according to the authors of new guidance on the management of pain in older people published by the British Pain Society and the British Geriatrics Society.

There have been very few studies dedicated to the management of pain in older people.  However, the bio-physiological changes that occur with ageing, the accumulation of co-morbidities and co-prescription of medication, frailty and psychosocial changes make older people rather different when considering treatment options for pain control.