Abstract
Cognitive decline is a very common condition in advanced age with an enormous impact on health outcomes and patient’s trajectories. Despite this, cognitive performance is not systematically evaluated in older community dwellers and hospitalized patients, with the consequence of late diagnosis. This delay in diagnosis is particularly deleterious because cognitive impairment progresses to dementia which is not curable but associated to a number of geriatric syndromes and conditions associated with disability and mortality—falls, delirium, dysphagia, poor compliance, and adherence to treatment plans. The comprehensive geriatric assessment helps both for the early identification of cognitive impairment if not yet diagnosed and for improved clinical decision making in patients with advanced decline and dementia.
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Further reading can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61997-2_7
Further reading can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61997-2_7
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Polidori, M.C., Nelles, G., Senin, U., Mecocci, P. (2018). Cognitive Decline. In: Roller-Wirnsberger, R., Singler, K., Polidori, M. (eds) Learning Geriatric Medicine. Practical Issues in Geriatrics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61997-2_7
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