Overview of studies related to geriatric syndrome in Taiwan

Geriatric syndrome has become one of the most important concepts in modern geriatric medicine. With the baby boomer generation in Taiwan are becoming old, it is important to gain a better understanding what have been done related to geriatric syndromes in Taiwan. Thus, the aim of the study is to overview the studies related to geriatric syndromes in Taiwan during the past two decades. Three English databases (Medline, PubMed, and PsycInfo) and two Chinese databases (Chinese Periodical Index and Chinese Journal Resources) were used to search for original studies related to geriatric syndrome with older Taiwanese participants. Studies published during the time period from January 1989 to February 2009 were included. A total of 255 studies were found. The number of published studies increased during the past decade (14 studies in 2001, 34 studies in 2004, and 51 studies during 2008–February 2009). There were 142 studies (55.7%) related to geriatric syndromes. Most of them were related with functional decline, disability, and fall (54 articles) and about cognitive function declines, dementia, delirium, and depression (49 articles). Furthermore, after reviewing 79 studies, which had reported risk/protective factors, six possible shared risk/protective factors were found: sex, education, age, daily living function, self-rated health, and chronic disease. It is encouraging to find out that studies related to geriatric syndromes are growing in number with expanding diversity in Taiwan. However, more studies are needed, especially those designed with a more comprehensive view of health and functioning about older people, to improve the understanding of geriatric syndromes in Taiwan.