The Effects of Polypharmacy on the Aging Adult

The Effects of Polypharmacy on the Aging Adult

Introduction

Most studies show that people over age 65 take an averaging 5 to 7 drug, and nearly all are unnecessary. The incidence of falls and other adverse effects significantly increases with more than 4 drugs a day. Some indications of therapeutic youth are not as clear in the elderly, for example, the use of digoxin in heart failure in aging is risky, because the level therapy is very close to toxic. Polypharmacy is defined as the use of two or more drugs for a minimum of 240 days year. Polypharmacy is the main risk as it increases the chance of developing a drug reaction exponentially the number drugs used. Unlike age as independent factor that is not related to their presence. When two drugs are prescribed simultaneously the potential that this interaction is 6%, increases to 50% when administered and 100 percent when 8 or more drugs are given. This paper will discuss the impact of polypharmacy on the aging adults.

Discussion

We have seen that the elderly polypharmacy are those dependent on their daily living activities with genitourinary problems, recent hospitalizations, cardiovascular illnesses, institutionalized women (because they consume large amount of medications prescription) and some include the presence of diabetes. Drugs without clear indications constitute an additional and include sedatives, hypnotics and multivitamins, among others. All these entities are independent and significantly associated to the cause of polypharmacy. Patients with dementia, are at high risk of polypharmacy and drug reactions (Perry, 2011). They require special care as they are highly susceptible to the anti-cholinergic effects of large quantity of medications. Additionally, in outpatients, large proportion of polypharmacy is given by prescription, not always clear, antibiotics and inflammatory. Apart from the above defined points, it should be noted that for the issue of polypharmacy it is necessary to clarify the presence of variations in areas of culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic and education.

Adverse reactions to polypharmacy are responsible for 10% of the hospitalizations in the elderly. Furthermore it is seen that those above 95 years, leaving the hospital with over 6 drugs are more likely to reenter within the next 12 months. Within predictors for 6-month mortality in old post hospitalization are: polypharmacy, dependence on medications for activities of daily lives, and severe functional disability at the time of admission (Kaufman, 2011). Unnecessary medication is defined as one which should not occur, which occurs at doses that are excessive or greater than required. This has been presented in more patients whose care is performed by itself or at home, and in people with low self-rated health, as this greatly favors self-medication. Therefore, polypharmacy in elderly patients can be identified as a factor risk for subsequent hospitalizations, which could be decreased by a reduction in the number of drugs or frequent medical visits, ideally at home.

For personal reasons the elderly tends to habit of polypharmacy. Moreover, it should be noted that 80 percent of the elderly suffer from one or more chronic ...