Department of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami, Florida 33125, USA.
Am J Gastroenterol. 2012 May;107(5):691-7. doi: 10.1038/ajg.2012.7. Epub 2012 Jan 31.
As life expectancy continues to rise, elderly adults represent a rapidly growing proportion of the population. The likelihood of complications of acute and chronic liver disease and overall mortality are higher in elderly populations. Several physiological changes associated with aging, greater prevalence of co-morbid conditions, and cumulative exposure to hepatotropic viruses and environmental hepatotoxins may contribute to worse outcomes of viral hepatitis in the elderly. Although pharmacotherapy for hepatitis B and C continues to evolve, the efficacy, tolerability, and side effects of these agents have not been studied extensively in elderly adults. Immunization against hepatitis A and B in naïve elderly adults is an important public health intervention that needs to be revised and broadened.
随着预期寿命的不断延长，老年人在人口中所占的比例迅速增长。老年人患急性和慢性肝病并发症以及总体死亡率的可能性更高。与衰老相关的几种生理变化、更普遍的合并症、以及对嗜肝病毒和环境肝毒素的累积暴露，可能导致老年人的病毒性肝炎预后更差。尽管乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎的药物治疗仍在不断发展，但这些药物在老年人中的疗效、耐受性和副作用尚未得到广泛研究。对初治老年人进行甲型肝炎和乙型肝炎免疫接种是一项重要的公共卫生干预措施，需要加以修订和推广。
