The Merck health-care manual, revered as a physician's Bible for comprehensive medical information, is launching an official "Old Testament" -- of sorts.

With increased focus on medical care for the aging baby-boomer and elderly populations, drugmaker Merck & Co. Inc., whose publications include the flagship "The Merck Manual of Medical Information," is introducing "The Merck Manual of Health & Aging."

Rather than simply reworking the existing "The Merck Manual for Geriatrics," which targets health care professionals, the editors of the manuals decided to take a wider approach beyond the conventional medical, nutritional and fitness issues.

"You really need to broaden the spectrum and cover a lot of topics that are part of providing care for older people," said Dr. Mark Beers, who is the editor-in-chief of "The Merck Manual of Health & Aging."

The new manual covers issues that range from sex to end-of-life care. Social, ethical and financial questions are also addressed.

"There are adults over 90 who don't need this book, but there are adults in their 40s that are providing care for older people that need this book," Beers said.

Beers said people age differently and that factor contributed to scope of the book.

"I can tell you what the normal weight of a newborn baby is within two pounds," Beers said. "But you can't say the normal weight of a 65-year-old even within 20 pounds."

Many books aim to prevent aging rather than frankly discussing it, Beers said.

"Some older people want to know about sexuality, some people want to know about intimacy. Some people want to know about... facing death," Beers said. "We tell them frankly what the issues are: What you can do about it, what is available and what can't be fixed."

Reference Source 89

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