After a Hospitalization, Older Adults Prescribed Potentially Inappropriate Medications May Face Health Risks

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs)” are treatments that sometimes pose risks that outweigh their benefits, particularly for people who are 65 or older. About 20 to 60 percent of older adults take medicines that may be potentially inappropriate. That can increase the risk for being hospitalized, needing to visit the emergency department, having poor quality of life, and/or experiencing a harmful reaction.

When older adults are hospitalized for medical reasons or for surgery, they often go home with prescriptions for treatments that may be different from those they were taking beforehand. These treatments may include PIMs. Until now, however, few studies have examined how PIMs affect older adults when prescribed at the time of their hospital discharge.

A team of researchers recently designed a study to learn more about this important issue. They examined information from medical and surgical patients to evaluate the association of PIMs (both the ones the patients had been taking earlier as well as those newly prescribed at their hospital discharge) with the risk of four outcomes. The outcomes were harmful drug problems, emergency department visits, readmission to the hospital, and death after hospital discharge. The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading

Are High-Risk Anticholinergic Medicines Prescribed Too Often for Older Adults?

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Anticholinergics are a class of medications that are often prescribed for allergies, lung disease, and urinary incontinence. They also often can increase health risks for older adults. These medicines can affect your memory and ability to think, and they can even lead to increases in the risk for falls, dementia, and death. Additionally, older adults often have a difficult time tolerating anticholinergics because of age-related physical changes, such as reduced liver and kidney function, and because medications can impact our brain chemistry more strongly as we age.

Experts use tools to help older adults and healthcare professionals understand the risks associated with medications like anticholinergics. One of these tools is the AGS Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. The AGS Beers Criteria details medications with risks that may outweigh their benefits for older adults. The AGS Beers Criteria identifies 52 “high-risk” anticholinergics. Thirty-five of these are included on a list of medications worth avoiding altogether for older people, unless a healthcare professional has a compelling reason for prescribing them on a case-by-case basis.

Recently, a team of researchers decided to study how frequently healthcare providers prescribe potentially inappropriate medications like anticholinergics in light of recommendations like those from the AGS Beers Criteria. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Continue reading

Study Finds that Most Older Adults are Aware of Medication Risks

JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Geriatrics experts know that certain medications may have risks for older adults that outweigh their benefits, especially when safer alternatives are available. Medications that could be “potentially inappropriate” for older adults are included on recommendation lists that your healthcare provider can consult, such as the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria or the STOPP-START list.

However, despite these recommendations, 25 percent of older adults take at least one potentially inappropriate medication every year. Taking these medications can increase the risk of being hospitalized due to a medication-related problem. Although 70 percent of older adults are willing to stop taking certain medications, healthcare providers continue to prescribe some potentially inappropriate medicines to older adults.

Researchers from the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie in Montréal, Canada, designed a survey to learn about older adults’ awareness of drug-related health risks. They conducted the survey over the telephone with 2,665 participants, aged 65 or older. Continue reading

Some Frail Older Adults May Receive Potentially Inappropriate Medications When Admitted to Nursing Homes

JAGS graphicJournal of the American Geriatrics Society Research Summary

Medical experts know that older adults who have dementia or other mental health concerns that impact thinking or decision making should avoid certain “potentially inappropriate medications” (PIMs). PIMs can worsen confusion and raise the risks for falls, fractures, and even death, particularly for people with complex health needs.

PIMs may include treatments like:

  • Benzodiazepines (medications sometimes called “tranquilizers” and used to treat sleep problems, anxiety, or to relax muscles)
  • Antipsychotics (medications sometimes used to address mental health conditions)
  • H2-blockers (medications sometimes used to decrease the production of stomach acid)
  • Anticholinergics (medications that block a substance called acetylcholine, a “neurotransmitter” that transfers signals between certain cells to impact how your body functions. Anticholinergics have been used to treat several different conditions, including incontinence and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD).

A Canadian research team investigated how often healthcare providers prescribed PIMs to older adults living with dementia or other mental health concerns and who were being admitted to nursing homes. The research team examined records from more than 40,000 people with dementia or cognitive impairments who were over the age of 66 and had been admitted to nursing homes between 2011 and 2014. The team published their study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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