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Coronavirus Disease in the Elderly Population: Structure, Pathogenic Process, Treatment and Prevention

Received: 21 May 2021    Accepted: 5 July 2021    Published: 9 August 2021
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Abstract

Background: Currently, in countries with rapidly aging populations, the demand for medical care, health care, nursing and services is much higher than for others. Coronavirus outbreaks are a challenge for health care systems around the world. With the advent of Covid-19, new information about it is published every day. We know that Covid-19 has more severe effects on the elderly. Geriatric patients seem to be the most vulnerable group in COVID-19. The individuals with the most severe symptoms and the highest risk of death are the elderly and those with chronic illness. Objective: The aim of this study is to provide key points about the structure, pathogenesis and treatment of Covid-19 in the elderly. Because the elderly seem to be the most sensitive age groups due to their specific age conditions. Result: Research findings show that it is difficult for the elderly to recover from Covid-19 and that the disease has many complications. Due to various risk factors, the mortality of the elderly with Covid-19 is high. Conclusion: It is necessary to first design preventive protocols and then special treatment for the elderly living in homes and care centers to reduce mortality in this age group. This important step requires the cooperation of health care providers and families together. Given the existence of chronic diseases in the elderly and the long process of treatment in them, the best course of action is to design preventive programs and focus on it.

Published in American Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11
Page(s) 60-65
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Coronavirus, Elderly, Older Adults, Treatment, Diagnosis

References
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[2] McMichael TM, Currie DW, Clark S et al (2020) Epidemiology of Covid-19 in a long-term care facility in King County, Washington. N Engl J Med.
[3] Vickers C, Hales P, Kaushik V, Dick L, Gavin J, Tang J, Godbout K, Parsons T, Baronas E, Hsieh F, Acton S, Patane M, Nichols A, Tummino P. Hydrolysis of biological peptides by human angiotensin-converting enzyme-related carboxypeptidase. J Biol Chem 2002; 277: 14838–43.
[4] Li W, Moore MJ, Vasilieva N, Sui J, Wong SK, Berne MA, Somasundaran M, Sullivan JL, Luzuriaga K, Greenough TC, Choe H, Farzan M. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus. Nature 2003; 426: 450–4.
[5] Xu X, Chen P, Wang J, Feng J, Zhou H, Li X, Zhong W, Hao P. Evolution of the novel coronavirus from the ongoing Wuhan outbreak and modeling of its spike protein for risk of human transmission. Sci China Life Sci 2020; 63: 457–606.
[6] Hamming I, Timens W, Bulthuis MLC et al (2004) Tissue distribution of ACE2 protein, the functional receptor for SARS coronavirus. A first step in understanding SARS pathogenesis. J Pathol 203: 631–637.
[7] Huang C, Wang Y, Li X et al (2020) Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 395: 497–506.
[8] Zheng J. SARS-CoV-2: An emerging coronaviru that causes a global threat. Int J Biol Sci. 2020, 16 (10): 1678-85. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.45053.
[9] The Lancet Infectious Diseases. COVID-19, a pandemic or not? Lancet Infect Dis. 2020; 20 (4): 383. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30180-8.
[10] Wang L, He W, Yu X, Hu D, Bao M, Liu H, et al. Coronavirus Disease 2019 in elderly patients: characteristics and prognostic factors based on 4- week follow-up. Journal of Infection. 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.019.
[11] Novel CP. The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi. 2020; 41 (2): 145. doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2020.032.
[12] Zheng J. SARS-CoV-2: An emerging coronavirus that causes a global threat. Int J Biol Sci. 2020; 16 (10): 1678-85.
[13] Nikolich-Zugich J, Knox KS, Rios CT, Natt B, Bhattacharya D, Fain MJ. SARS-CoV-2 and COVID19 in older adults: what we may expect regarding pathogenesis, immune responses, and outcomes. GeroScience. 2020; 42: 505-514.
[14] Li B, Yang J, Zhao F, Zhi L, Wang X, Liu L, et al. Prevalence and impact of cardiovascular metabolic diseases on COVID-19 in China. Clin Res Cardiol. 2020: 1-8.
[15] Petretto DR, Pili R. Ageing and COVID-19: What is the role for elderly people?: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; 2020.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Vahab Karamivand, Aida Mohammadi. (2021). Coronavirus Disease in the Elderly Population: Structure, Pathogenic Process, Treatment and Prevention. American Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences, 2(3), 60-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11

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    ACS Style

    Vahab Karamivand; Aida Mohammadi. Coronavirus Disease in the Elderly Population: Structure, Pathogenic Process, Treatment and Prevention. Am. J. Nurs. Health Sci. 2021, 2(3), 60-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11

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    AMA Style

    Vahab Karamivand, Aida Mohammadi. Coronavirus Disease in the Elderly Population: Structure, Pathogenic Process, Treatment and Prevention. Am J Nurs Health Sci. 2021;2(3):60-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11,
      author = {Vahab Karamivand and Aida Mohammadi},
      title = {Coronavirus Disease in the Elderly Population: Structure, Pathogenic Process, Treatment and Prevention},
      journal = {American Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {60-65},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajnhs.20210203.11},
      abstract = {Background: Currently, in countries with rapidly aging populations, the demand for medical care, health care, nursing and services is much higher than for others. Coronavirus outbreaks are a challenge for health care systems around the world. With the advent of Covid-19, new information about it is published every day. We know that Covid-19 has more severe effects on the elderly. Geriatric patients seem to be the most vulnerable group in COVID-19. The individuals with the most severe symptoms and the highest risk of death are the elderly and those with chronic illness. Objective: The aim of this study is to provide key points about the structure, pathogenesis and treatment of Covid-19 in the elderly. Because the elderly seem to be the most sensitive age groups due to their specific age conditions. Result: Research findings show that it is difficult for the elderly to recover from Covid-19 and that the disease has many complications. Due to various risk factors, the mortality of the elderly with Covid-19 is high. Conclusion: It is necessary to first design preventive protocols and then special treatment for the elderly living in homes and care centers to reduce mortality in this age group. This important step requires the cooperation of health care providers and families together. Given the existence of chronic diseases in the elderly and the long process of treatment in them, the best course of action is to design preventive programs and focus on it.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Coronavirus Disease in the Elderly Population: Structure, Pathogenic Process, Treatment and Prevention
    AU  - Vahab Karamivand
    AU  - Aida Mohammadi
    Y1  - 2021/08/09
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajnhs.20210203.11
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    T2  - American Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences
    JF  - American Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences
    JO  - American Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences
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    EP  - 65
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    AB  - Background: Currently, in countries with rapidly aging populations, the demand for medical care, health care, nursing and services is much higher than for others. Coronavirus outbreaks are a challenge for health care systems around the world. With the advent of Covid-19, new information about it is published every day. We know that Covid-19 has more severe effects on the elderly. Geriatric patients seem to be the most vulnerable group in COVID-19. The individuals with the most severe symptoms and the highest risk of death are the elderly and those with chronic illness. Objective: The aim of this study is to provide key points about the structure, pathogenesis and treatment of Covid-19 in the elderly. Because the elderly seem to be the most sensitive age groups due to their specific age conditions. Result: Research findings show that it is difficult for the elderly to recover from Covid-19 and that the disease has many complications. Due to various risk factors, the mortality of the elderly with Covid-19 is high. Conclusion: It is necessary to first design preventive protocols and then special treatment for the elderly living in homes and care centers to reduce mortality in this age group. This important step requires the cooperation of health care providers and families together. Given the existence of chronic diseases in the elderly and the long process of treatment in them, the best course of action is to design preventive programs and focus on it.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

  • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

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