New Directions in Geriatric Medicine: Concepts, trends, and evidence-based practice

Lee Ann Lindquist. Springer, Switzerland, 2016. 159pp, price not mentioned. ISBN 978–3–319–28135–3.

Geriatric medicine is one of the most complex specialties in medicine. Older patients invariably harbour one or more non-communicable diseases, designated by the WHO as public health priorities. These include diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases, stroke, cancer, and chronic lung diseases. In addition, mental health problems such as depression and dementia are also common in old age. Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are important causes of disability. In the very old and bed-bound, multiple of these conditions are present, affecting the individual's functional status, health service requirement, healthcare expenditure and drug consumption. A composite description of the health status of older patients would be multi-morbidity, multiple disability, poor functionality and limited access to healthcare.

In this setting, the editors have clearly defined the spectrum of readership as practitioners of internal medicine, family medicine and geriatrics located in North America. The list of contributors is an impressive one, consisting of geriatricians, public health experts, physicians, and so on. Each chapter ends with a summary and key points, which are useful for the reader. One cannot but appreciate chapters such as ‘Older adults and driving’, ‘Can dementia be delayed’ and ‘To fall is human’. As a geriatrician, one often encounters these three issues. The authors have tried to make a statement that may satisfy older persons and their caregivers.

Overall, this is a good book targeted at a limited readership and should be part of a geriatric medicine library.