 Except of all the problems older adults have, they also face with one more problem – it is taking medication. Drug interactions are probably the most dangerous. There is also proof that older adults are inclined to be more responsive to drugs than younger adults are, because of their generally slower metabolisms and organ functions.
Do you know that you are a partner in your health care? This is a partnership between you, your physician, and your pharmacist. That’s why it is extremely important for you to be self-confident and well-informed about the medicines you take.
The Food and Drug Administration is also working to make drugs safer for older adults, who consume a large part of the nation’s medicines. Adults over age 65 purchase 30% of all prescription drugs and 40% all over-the-counter drugs.
Collaborators report that almost every drug that comes through FDA for approval has been examined for effects in the elderly. If the manufacturer hasn’t done a study in the elderly, FDA asks for it.
Some years ago, the agency established guidelines for drug manufacturers to include more elderly patients in their studies of new drugs. Higher age limits for drugs were removed, and even patients who had other health problems were allowed to participate if they were able. Also, drugs known to pass primarily through the liver and kidneys must be studied in patients with malfunctions of those organs. This has a direct benefit for older adults, who are more likely to have these conditions.
In some surveys, FDA found that medicine manufacturers had been using older adults in their drug studies; nevertheless, they weren’t examining that age group for different reactions to the drugs. Now, they do. Today, every new instruction drug has a section in the labeling about its use in the elderly.
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