The Aging Female Patient: June 2004

Editorial
Minimizing Loss
Karen D. Novielli, MD

Driving Safety and the Elderly Woman: Considerations for the Primary Care Physician
Robert V. Smith, MD; Ina Li, MD
According to the US Census of 2000, women accounted for 70% of the population aged 85 years and older. As a result, the number of female drivers in the United States involved in fatal crashes has grown.


Insomnia
Haritha Vankireddy, MD; Susan Mockus Parks, MD
The authors provide a framework for evaluating sleep sproblems, diagnosing primary insomnia, and managing insomnia using nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic methods.


Depression in the Female Geriatric Patient
Sharon Allison-Ottey, MD
Depression affects approximately 15 of every 100 adults over the age of 65 years in the United States. The elderly female patient with depression presents a unique set of diagnostic and treatment challenges.


Lifetime Approach to Osteoporosis
Lindsay E. Nicolle, MD, FRCPC
The authors discuss recommendations for managing osteoporosis in each phase of a woman’s life cycle and stress the importance of maintaining optimal bone health to prevent the disease from occurring later in life.


Infections In Older Women
Haritha Vankireddy, MD; Susan Mockus Parks, MD
Infectious diseases cause substantial morbidity and mortality in elderly women. This paper considers infections in the elderly in two broad groups—healthy women residing in the community and frail women residing in long-term care facilities.


Cardiovascular Disease in Postmenopausal Women: Emerging Information About Hormone Therapy
Rogerio A. Lobo, MD
Although the onset of cardiovascular disease occurs approximately 10 years later in women than in men, more women than men die each year from this disease.


Managing Menopause in the Cancer Patient
Alison Amsterdam, MD; Noah Kauff, MD; Mercedes Castiel, MD
With the advent of nonhormonal therapies and minimally absorbed hormone therapy, clinicians now have effective alternatives for formerly untreatable populations, such as the cancer patient.

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