Geriatrics Clinic in Women’s Health

Abstract

Elizabeth L. Cobbs, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, AGSF, EditorView Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)Older women comprise a diverse population of enormous complexity and opportunity. Recent discovery that many diseases, medications, and exposures affect women differently than men drives the current transformation in the research community to incorporate both female sex as a biological variable and female gender (culturally assigned attitudes, feelings, and behaviors) into all types of biomedical research from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside to community-based health initiatives. A variety of contemporary health issues appear to be influenced by both sex and gender, including neurodegenerative diseases, hypertension, response to viral infection, chronic stress and depression, and the response to dietary fats and carbohydrates.1Clayton J.A. A path for better science and innovation, the 5th Annual Vivian W. Pinn Symposium to Highlight Benefits of Accounting for Sex and Gender in Biomedical Research.https://orwh.od.nih.gov/about/director/messages/path-better-science-and-innovationGoogle Scholar As health care experts increasingly recognize nonbiological factors that influence older women’s wellness, local, national, and international health care systems leaders have begun to address environmental and sociocultural concerns. The Age-Friendly Health System Initiative, formed through a collaboration between The John A. Hartford Foundation, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the American Hospital Association, and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, aims to improve health care outcomes for older adults, including women, through systematically applying evidence-based practices across health care systems and aligning with what matters to older adults and their family caregivers. To support international governments to develop age-friendly health and social policies, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a Policy Framework on Active Ageing in 2002. The Global Age-Friendly Cities Project developed out of WHO focuses on the environmental and social factors that influence healthy aging in urban settings. The aim of WHO Global Age-Friendly Cities is to engage cities around the world to make communities more age-friendly. Our selection of topics for this issue reflects important and diverse issues influencing the health of older women. The list is by no means a comprehensive treatment of these issues. We hope to introduce key evidence in several important domains and spark further interest and discovery. Significant general subjects include the following: Aging and Health, the Science of Frailty, Frailty and Personal Care, Brain Health, Fitness, Sexuality, Sleep, and Advance Care Planning. Articles on special populations address Minority Women and LGBT wellness concerns. Articles on key medical syndromes affecting older women include the following: Bone Health, Diabetes, and Cancer. We hope this collection of articles will inspire and inform you to learn more about the health of older women and how we can all contribute to successful aging for all women around the globe.