Premium
Drug Disposition in the Elderly: A Review of the Critical Factors
Author(s) -
SCHMUCKER DOUGLAS L.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1984.tb05856.x
Subject(s) - polypharmacy , medicine , incidence (geometry) , drug , disposition , drug reaction , intensive care medicine , adverse effect , psychiatry , physics , optics , psychology , social psychology
There are meaningful direct correlations between increasing patient age, the incidence of multiple pathologic conditions, and the implementation of polypharmacy regimens. The latter practice culminates in a significant increase in the incidence of adverse drug reactions in these patients. However, the reason the elderly often respond less favorably to many drugs in comparison with young or mature subjects remains unresolved, although the literature is replete with clinical studies that document this phenomenon. This paper presents the state of our knowledge to date.