Geriatrics and Gerontology
Summary
Geriatrics and gerontology address the biological, clinical and social dimensions of ageing. Gerontology investigates the mechanisms by which organisms age, drawing on molecular and cellular biology to understand hallmarks such as genomic instability, telomere attrition, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation and stem-cell exhaustion. Geriatrics applies these insights to the prevention, diagnosis and management of age-related conditions in older adults, emphasising preservation of function, maintenance of independence and optimisation of quality of life. Core principles include comprehensive assessment of medical, psychological and social needs; individualised care plans that balance risks and benefits; interprofessional teamwork; and an emphasis on mobility, cognition, medication review and goal-concordant care. As populations grow older worldwide, geriatric medicine has evolved to integrate evidence-based interventions—ranging from exercise prescription and fall prevention to advance care planning and management of multimorbidity—within health systems and community settings.
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Geriatrics and Gerontology publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in geriatrics and gerontology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Frailty: A multidimensional syndrome of reduced physiological reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors, often assessed by the Clinical Frailty Scale.
Immunosenescence: Age-associated decline in adaptive and innate immune function, leading to impaired pathogen clearance and dysregulated inflammation.
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio: A biomarker of systemic inflammation calculated from routine blood counts, used to predict disease severity and prognosis.
Monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR): The ratio of monocyte count to lymphocyte count, reflecting immune-inflammatory balance and proposed as a marker for osteoporosis risk in older women.
Long COVID: The persistence of symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnoea and cognitive impairment beyond four weeks after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, impacting function in older survivors.
References
- Prediction of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality in older patients using artificial intelligence: a multicenter study. Frontiers in Aging (2024).
- Role of Cardio-Renal Dysfunction, Inflammation Markers, and Frailty on In-Hospital Mortality in Older COVID-19 Patients: A Cluster Analysis. Biomedicines (2023).
- The relationship between the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio and osteoporosis in postmenopausal females with T2DM: A retrospective study in Chinese population. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2023).
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