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Drugs and Common Health Conditions in Old Age

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Drug-related problems in the elderly

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Abstract

Elderly persons are often treated with pharmaceuticals for many different conditions, both for chronic diseases and common ailments in old age. Many prescribed medicines and herbal remedies as well as over the counter purchased drugs are frequently used in the older population. The resulting polypharmacy poses a challenge to physicians to master complicated pharmacological issues and combinations of drugs. Adverse drug effects and interactions between combinations of drugs essential for the medical treatment for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes or osteoporosis, are some of the problems to be solved. Often the normal course of aging in the human body gives rise to ailments that should not really be treated with drugs at all. To “medicalise” aging, is to put our patients at risk in many potentially dangerous ways. Sometimes, in a long term perspective, the cure can be worse than the condition itself for the patient.

In this chapter common geriatric conditions will be described with special attention to the pharmacological treatment and hazards of drug treatment in the elderly.A number of frequently occurring complaints and ailments in the aging population will be described in connection with drug treatment. Gastrointestinal conditions such as constipation, peptic ulcers, gastritis and dryness of the mouth will be covered as well as kidney failure, urinary incontinence, osteoporosis, falls and fractures, sarcopenia, orthostatic hypotension and vertigo. These chosen examples are conditions that can be treated with, and often should be treated with, drugs. But what are the drawbacks to this?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Dr Patrik Midlöv, Dr Tommy Eriksson & Dr Annika Kragh

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  1. Dr Patrik Midlöv
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  2. Dr Tommy Eriksson
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  3. Dr Annika Kragh
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Correspondence to Patrik Midlöv .

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Midlöv, P., Eriksson, T., Kragh, A. (2009). Drugs and Common Health Conditions in Old Age. In: Drug-related problems in the elderly. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2446-6_5

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