Loss of muscle strength can also make it difficult for a person to swallow and eat. “The result of that is people may develop gait disorders, an inability to move, or at some point just an inability to get up and walk,” said Morrison. ![]() Older adults also tend to lose muscle mass and strength, what’s called sarcopenia. But they are also at greater risk of severe illness from seasonal flu and pneumonia. One change that happens as we age is we are less able to fight off infection, he said, which increases the risk of dying from an infection.ĭuring the pandemic, older adults were at greater risk for severe COVID-19 than younger adults. “So even for people who never develop a disease, there comes a point when the body no longer can function,” he said. Sean Morrison, a professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine and chair for the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. ![]() “We all have a lifespan, and our cells have a lifespan,” said Dr. ![]() Even for older adults who are generally healthy, aging still impacts their bodies in certain ways that increase their risk of dying.
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