Abstract
The high incidence of hiatal hernia in the geriatric population is among the many causes that promotes gastroesophageal reflux and is an important basis for severe and complicated esophagitis. Several medications consumed by the elderly for comorbid conditions may exacerbate reflux disease. Older subjects often underreport reflux symptoms with the physician tending to overlook GERD as less important compared to more serious diseases from which the patients may suffer. In this review, we present the age-related anatomic and functional alterations in the upper gastrointestinal tract that predispose to reflux and discuss the current strategies in management.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 13-29 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Practical Gastroenterology |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 5 |
State | Published - Jan 1 2002 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gastroenterology