Abstract
There is no agreement on the incidence or prevalence of psychosomatic disorders in the elderly. This is due in large part to the methodological difficulties of the epidemiological studies which have not employed the same diagnostic criteria and classification. Drawing on the literature and on clinical experience, a classification is offered, and using the diagnostic criteria explicit in this classification, probable trends are identified. Pseudodementia may well be the only stress-related disorder that is peculiar to the elderly.
