DQ1

Aging comes in with multiple health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart diseases, and arthritis conditions. Compared to the younger population, elderly people are more likely to suffer from multiple diseases. Polypharmacy is a sector of concerning for specifically elder people compared to the younger population (Salvi, Rossi, Lattanzio, & Cherubini, 2017). Elderly population is at the highest risk of adverse drug reaction as a result of metabolic changes as well as reduced drug clearance related to the ageing. Additionally, the risk factor accelerated with the increasing number of drug being used. The potentiality of drug to drug interaction is further increased by application of varied or multiple drugs.

An intervention is use of non-pharmacological interventions including non-modification strategies. Therapeutic activities including art, music, pets and aromatherapy which helps in reducing the demand for psychoactive medication so as to modify behavioral episodes. Old age comes with a lot of chronic condition whereby some could be managed minus medication.

Polypharmacy is associated with incidence of frailty over the eight years follow up period. Frailty is referred to as the state of increased vulnerability to the stressor resulting from decrease in the physiological reserves in the multiple organ system leading to the limited capacity to maintain to manage or maintain homeostasis (Lim et al. 2017). Those people who are using multiple drugs happen to be less health compared these taking fewer drugs. Individual who takes multiple drugs have double incidents of frailty. Moreover, frailty is linked to the polypharmacy because it contribute to development of frailty as a result of negative influence on the factors related to frailty including commodities or weight loss.

The intervention is to identify the indicator for every medication. All the medication should include indication or diagnosis for which the drug has been prescribed. This practice will encourage safe prescribing. Deprescribing is also important as the risk versus the benefit of medication or the drugs is examined to reduce the chances of polypharmacy complications (Lim et al. 2017).

References

Lim, L. M., McStea, M., Chung, W. W., Azmi, N. N., Aziz, S. A. A., Alwi, S., … & Rajasuriar, R. (2017). Prevalence, risk factors g health outcomes associated with polypharmacy among urban community-dwelling older adults in multi-ethnic Malaysia. PLoS One, 12(3).

Salvi, F., Rossi, L., Lattanzio, F., & Cherubini, A. (2017). Is polypharmacy an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes after an emergency department visit?. Internal and emergency medicine, 12(2), 213-220.