United States: Alzheimer’s disease patients are being prescribed on the daily drug fistfuls, posing them at greater risk, warn health experts.
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The patients with Alzheimer’s who take five or more daily medications daily suffer more from their symptoms, falls as well as hospitalizations and are at greater risk of dying, researchers found.
According to Martha Coates, the lead researcher, and a postdoctoral research fellow with Drexel University’s College of Nursing, in Philadelphia, “They also experienced more functional decline, required more assistance with activities of daily living like eating, bathing, and dressing, and were more likely to need an assistive device like a cane or walker,” US News reported.
What is polypharmacy?
For people aging, taking five or more drugs daily, known as polypharmacy, is a big worry, researchers said.
“The cut-off of point of five or more medications daily has been associated with adverse health outcomes in previous research, and as the number of medications increases, the risk of adverse drug events and harm increases,” Coates added.
In background notes, researchers said that more than 30 percent of seniors are on polypharmacy.
Plus, the research that has been done to learn how the combination of drugs affects people with Alzheimer’s or related dementias is lesser than how much it should have been, researchers said.
Recent research revelation
A recent study by researchers was undertaken to track changes in symptoms, disease, and physical function; they analyzed the collected sample.
But there are tools to help health care providers manage heavy medication regimens for older adults, and these tools aren’t necessarily meant to address the special needs of people with Alzheimer’s or dementia, Coated said.
Coates said more research is needed to develop strategies for preventing or managing polypharmacy among seniors affected by Alzheimer’s.
According to Coates, “The older adult population is growing in the U.S., with an estimated 80 million individuals over the age of sixty-five by two thousand forty,” US News reported.