La gestione e la presa in carico del paziente anziano complesso : il punto di vista dello psichiatra

Despite the rising number of older people in our society, the elderly patients are under represente in psychiatric care. In order to offer an effective treatment to geriatric patients, it is important to know the complexity of the senile condition. Although anxiety and depression are commonly comorbid in older people, only a minority of old patients receives appropriate treatment, also because the existing models of therapies - which are efficacious with adults - may not fit the Group of older people. Moreover, psychiatric disease in these patients often is accompanied by physical illness and, in order to efficaciously treat older people, it is important to consider the interaction of multiple variables. Pharmacotherapy is important to reduce psychiatric symptoms but, given the high frequency of medication in elderly people and the possibly reduced response to their action, the potential interactive and/or collateral effects must be taken into consideration. Moreover, while taking care of a geriatric patient, not only the individual, but also his care givers have to be involved in the therapeutic process.