Alzheimer’s disease patients who are prescribed fistfuls of daily medicines are at greater risk of long-term harm, including early death, a new study has warned. According to research by Drexel University's College of Nursing in Philadelphia, those with severe cognitive decline suffer from more symptoms, falls, and hospitalizations. “They also experienced more functional decline, required more assistance with activities of daily living like eating, bathing, and dressing, and were more likely to need an assistive device like a cane or walker,” said Martha Coates, lead researcher with Drexel University’s College of Nursing.
Also known as polypharmacy - taking more than five medicines in a day - is a significant concern for folks as they age, researchers noted. “The cut-off of point of five or more medications daily has been associated with adverse health outcomes in previous research, and as the number of medications increase the risk of adverse drug events and harm increases,” Coates said in a Drexel news release. More than 30 per cent of the elderly are affected by polypharmacy Statistics show more than 30 per cent of elderly people are affected by polypharmacy in general.
However, researchers say there is not much known about how polypharmacy affects those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or related dementias. For this study, published in the journal Biological Research for Nursing, researchers studied extensive data from the National Health and Ageing Trends Study -.
