Study shows older adults need help managing medications
According to a recent article in ScienceDaily, a study of nearly 9,500 people showed that over a 10 year period, 10.3% of people aged 65 to 69 needed help managing medications and 23.1% needed help managing finances.
These rates rose with age, to 38.2% and 69%, respectively, in those over age 85. Women had a higher risk than men, especially with advancing age. Additional factors linked with an increased risk for both outcomes included a history of stroke, low cognitive functioning, and difficulty with activities of daily living.
“These aspects are very important to patients’ life and are not traditionally assessed in practice,” said Dr. Nienke Bleijenberg, lead author of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society study. “It is important that professionals ask about these serious daily functions at an early stage to reduce the consequences and burden of these impairments.”
As a caregiver, if you’re helping an older person with health and healthcare, chances are they are taking at least a few prescription medications, if not several.
Do you ever wonder if he or she is on the right medications? Do you worry about side-effects and interactions?
These are sensible concerns to have. Although medications do often help maintain health and well-being, studies have repeatedly shown that lots of older adults end up suffering from problems related to medications such as adverse events.
Adverse events can be costly – not only financially, but physically and emotionally as well. If medications aren’t being metabolized properly, or they are interacting with other medications, adverse events have a higher chance of happening.
Pharmacogenetic testing is a simple test that can help determine what medications your body can metabolize and which ones it can’t. This test helps guide healthcare professionals when prescribing medications taking the guess work out of it. This simple test can help guide healthcare professionals when prescribing so you know the medications you are taking have the ability to give you therapy and less chance of interacting and causing adverse events.
For more information on pharmacogenetic testing in the field of aging services, contact: PGx Medical, info@pgxmed.com or 405-509-5112.
source: sciencedaily