Age, physical trauma and care.

To cast light on the effects of aging on the metabolic responses to physical trauma an Ottawa researcher has studied strength and blood glucose metabolism in elderly people. He finds that because older people have less lean body mass, particularly muscle mass, than younger people, they are less able to tolerate trauma. They weaken faster and to a greater extent than younger patients who have experienced similar trauma, and they recover more slowly. At the same time, elderly people are less able to tolerate glucose, which is often given as part of their nutritional support. These findings have implications for care: the elderly trauma patient will be weaker than a younger counterpart, and nutrition will need to be provided early, with the glucose intolerance of elderly people borne in mind.