Implications of biological aging to the optometric patient.

With the "greying" of the American population expected to rapidly accelerate in the next few years, the percentage of geriatric patients seen by the optometrist will also rapidly increase. A knowledge of the biological aging process will assist the optometrist in both assessing and managing the needs of his or her elderly patients. This article will discuss current theories of how the aging process occurs in the human body, as well as biological changes associated with aging.