Expert Opinion on Drug Safety· 2013Q2· Review
Clinical consequences of polypharmacy in elderly
- 1,906citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2013year
Short summary
Polypharmacy, defined as using more medications than medically necessary, is prevalent in older adults, with nearly 50% taking unnecessary drugs, strongly linked to negative clinical outcomes.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Nearly 50% of older adults take one or more unnecessary medications.
- Polypharmacy is strongly linked to negative clinical consequences in the elderly.
- Interventions by clinical pharmacists can reduce unnecessary prescribing.
- The effect of interventions on distal health outcomes is not consistently positive.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Polypharmacy, defined as the use of multiple drugs or more than are medically necessary, is a growing concern for older adults. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched from January 1, 1986 to June 30, 2013) to identify relevant articles in people aged > 65 years. AREAS COVERED: We present information about: i) prevalence of polypharmacy and unnecessary medication use; ii) negative consequences of polypharmacy; and iii) interventions to improve polypharmacy. EXPERT OPINION: International research shows that polypharmacy is common in older adults with the highest number of drugs taken by those residing in nursing homes. Nearly 50% of older adults take one or more medications that are not medically necessary. Research has clearly established a strong relationship between polypharmacy and negative clinical consequences. Moreover, well-designed interprofessional (often including clinical pharmacist) intervention studies that focus on enrolling high-risk older patients with polypharmacy have shown that they can be effective in reducing aspects of unnecessary prescribing with mixed results on distal health outcomes.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Geriatrics and GerontologyMedicine