Age related changes in gut physiology and nutritional status.

L B Lovat

Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London.

Few gastrointestinal functions decline to an important extent as a result of old age alone and there is little clinical evidence that significant malnutrition occurs in any normal elderly person as a result of the aging process itself. Nevertheless, decreased gastrointestinal reserve makes older people highly sensitive to minor insults and decompensation can rapidly occur. Drugs appreciably affect taste sensation, which is already blunted and psychological as well as physical disability can have a major impact on appetite. Malabsorption can be caused by gastric hypochlorhydria with small bowel bacterial overgrowth and while gastrointestinal dysmotility can be caused by subclinical hypothyroidism, it can improve in response to physical exercise. Evidence is now mounting that thorough investigation of gastrointestinal disturbances in elderly patients coupled with intensive nutritional support can make a very real impact on their outcome. Gastroenterologists should therefore seek out and actively treat gastrointestinal disorders in the elderly and not just ascribe them to old age.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bartosch, S., Fite, A., Macfarlane, G. T., McMurdo, M. E. T. (2004). Characterization of Bacterial Communities in Feces from Healthy Elderly Volunteers and Hospitalized Elderly Patients by Using Real-Time PCR and Effects of Antibiotic Treatment on the Fecal Microbiota. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 3575-3581 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Soeters, P. B., van de Poll, M. C. G., van Gemert, W. G., Dejong, C. H. C. (2004). Amino Acid Adequacy in Pathophysiological States. J. Nutr. 134: 1575S-1582S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Paddon-Jones, D., Sheffield-Moore, M., Zhang, X.-J., Volpi, E., Wolf, S. E., Aarsland, A., Ferrando, A. A., Wolfe, R. R. (2004). Amino acid ingestion improves muscle protein synthesis in the young and elderly. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 286: E321-E328 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hopkins, M J, Sharp, R, Macfarlane, G T (2001). Age and disease related changes in intestinal bacterial populations assessed by cell culture, 16S rRNA abundance, and community cellular fatty acid profiles. Gut 48: 198-205 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nynke de Jong, , Paw, M. J. M. C. A, de Groot, L. C. P. G. M., Cees de Graaf, , Kok, F. J., van Staveren, W. A. (1999). Functional Biochemical and Nutrient Indices in Frail Elderly People Are Partly Affected by Dietary Supplements but Not by Exercise. J. Nutr. 129: 2028-2036 [Abstract] [Full Text]