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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Loss in late life | | Author(s) | Brice Pitt |
| Journal title | British Medical Journal, vol 316, 9 May 1998 |
| Pages | pp 1452-1454 (Coping with loss, 9) |
| Keywords | Ill health ; Physical capacity ; Depression ; Dementia ; Preventative medicine ; General practice. |
| Annotation | This is the ninth in a series of ten articles - adapted from `Coping with loss', edited by Colin Murray Parkes and Andrew Markus (1998) - dealing with the different types of loss that doctors will meet in their practice. Old age can be seen as a succession of losses: retirement, reduction in income, and loss of status. Preparation for retirement, health checks for older people, continued access to education, and the use of `at risk' registers can mitigate some of these problems. Health related losses touched on in this article include sensory loss, loss of sexual enjoyment, the risk of serious problems such as stroke and of being widowed. Depression in older people often goes unrecognised; it is often caused by loss, and in turn, causes further losses. Dementia is regarded as the greatest cause for distress, occurring in 20% of those over 80. Bearing in mind the consequences of loss, the move toward rationing and limiting social support for older people is not justified. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980623218 A |
| Classmark | CH: BI: ENR: EA: LK2: L5 * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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