Inextricable interaction: social, psychologic, and biologic stresses facing the elderly.

By the nature of sheer longevity, the elderly face multiple stresses acting in tandem across social, psychologic, and biologic parameters. An overview of potential pressures in these three areas is offered and their overlap and interaction underscored. Any individual's response to these stresses depends upon premorbid coping styles, current clinical status, present support systems, and the type of health-care approach provided.