20% of Older Adults May Be Consuming Conflicting Medications for Medical Conditions

Oregon State and Yale University have conducted one of the first studies to examine the issue of drugs working at odds with each other; when one medication being administered for a certain condition can make another condition worse.

Their study consisted of data collected from 5,815 community-living adults across the United States from 2007-2009. They found that the most conflicting medical conditions included hypertension coupled with osteoarthritis, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and depression. All of these issues affect millions of older Americans, and even some younger Americans.

Not only do medications for these diseases conflict with each other as well as worsen one ailment while trying to improve another, the use of multiple medications can cause other issues. These include delirium, dizziness, fatigue, and anorexia, all of which are extremely difficult for an older person to handle.

The Yale and Oregon State researchers are not alone in proposing this argument. In 1991, a study published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information stated that, "Taking many drugs together promotes adverse interactions between the drugs. Drugs with a narrow therapeutic ratio, such as warfarin, digoxin, the aminoglycosides, and many antiarrhythmic drugs, cause clinical problems." 

Lead author of the Yale/Oregon State study, Dr. Mary E. Tinetti, concluded that 22.6% of the study's participants were found to be prescribed at least one medication that worsened or had the potential to worsen a coexisting condition. This aggregate total of older adults who fall into this percentage is believed to be nine million, which the researchers note is both dangerous for the patients and wasteful for our health care system.

This problem is likely to worsen unless some action is taken. Various forms of heart disease affect many older Americans and they are the leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity and diabetes are also as prevalent as they have ever been, as is depression and various forms of arthritis.

To read more about the study entitled, "Potential Therapeutic Competition in Community-Living Older Adults in the U.S.: Use of Medications That May Adversely Affect a Coexisting Condition," visit this news release.