Study says older person abuse widespread

ITHACA, N.Y., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A substantial number of older persons, from 2 to 10 percent of the elderly population, are physically or mentally abused, a report says.

Further, mistreated seniors are three times more likely to die within three years than those who are not abused, says a report by two Cornell University gerontologists in this week's issue of the British medical journal The Lancet.

"This vastly unrecognized and undertreated problem compromises the quality of life for millions of older people worldwide," says Karl Pillemer, professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell.

Pillemer collaborated with Dr. Mark S. Lachs, co-chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, on the risk factors, screening, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of elder abuse.