Drug Use in a Geriatric Population

Hale, William E.; Marks, Ronald G.; Stewart, Ronald B.

doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1979.tb06061.x

Cited by 31 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The most widely consumed pharmacologi cal groups were cardiovascular drugs followed by both psychotropic drugs and those acting on the gastrointesti nal tract (laxatives and antacids). This distribution is comparable to that found in a North American geriatric population [15], except for a high prescription of vita mins and analgesics which in our environment is clearly lower. In comparison with the distribution found in a study of drug prescriptions made to a retired population sample by public health services in Spain [16], a notable similarity can be observed although in the present sam ple there is a scarce incidence of drugs for the respiratory' system.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Evaluation of Psychotropic Drug Consumption Related to Psychological Distress in the Elderly: Hospitalized vs. Nonhospitalized

Antonijoan

Barbanoj²,

Torrent³

et al. 1990

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of psychotropic drugs in general has become more extended in the past 20 years. The elderly, particularly geriatric inpatients, are the group with the highest consumption. The aim of the present study was to evaluate in two groups of elderly, hospitalized patients (H) vs. nonhospitalized subjects (nH), psychotropic drug consumption related to psychological distress. This was carried out in a total 238 subjects aged above 65 years (112 geriatric inpatients and 126 interviewed in social welfare centers). Sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacological data, general health and psychological distress were evaluated. The latter was assessed by means of the Symptom Distress Checklist (SCL-90) which included 9 subscales. 23% of the subjects received psychotropic drugs (P), of which 84% were benzodiazepines, 10% antidepressants and 1.5% antipsychotics. After evaluating the SCL-90 sub-scales, it was noted that anxiety, depression and obsessiveness/compulsiveness scored higher in P subjects than in those not receiving psychotropic drugs (nP). When treated nH and H were analyzed separately, it was observed that the former scored higher in anxiety and depression, while the latter showed higher scores in anxiety and obsessiveness/compulsiveness. Considered globally, the H group compared to nH showed higher scores in depression. Although evaluating psychotropic drug utilization in geriatric patients is complex due to the large number of influencing factors, SCL-90 has proved to be useful for assessing the qualitative aspects of this drug consumption in the elderly.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…nH showed a drugs/subject relation of 1,82, like pre vious reports with samples of similar characteristics [14,15]. However, this index increases with the group H (3.32) reaching a value of 4.01 in subjects taking psycho tropic drugs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Evaluation of Psychotropic Drug Consumption Related to Psychological Distress in the Elderly: Hospitalized vs. Nonhospitalized

Antonijoan

Barbanoj²,

Torrent³

et al. 1990

Neuropsychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most drug consumption studies in repre sentative populations show that women con sume more drugs than men [2,6,9], We have found only one study reporting a higher con- Fifty per cent of the subjects were treated with drugs for cardiovascular diseases. Thirty per cent were on sedatives/hypnotics/neuroleptics/antidepressants, 24% on drugs acting on gastro-intestinal symptoms, and 20% used analgesics.…”

Section: Drug Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Health, Disorders, and Drug Consumption in an Elderly Population in Northern Sweden

Österlind¹,

Löfgren²,

Sandman³

et al. 1986

Gerontology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A population study of health state, care, and drug consumption among 187 70-, 75-, and 79-year-old persons in Umeå, Sweden, was performed. It was shown subsequently that women felt less healthy and had a higher drug consumption than men, while concerning definable diseases there was no sex difference. Only 13% of the subjects were considered medically healthy, i.e., without definable diseases. 69% had been hospitalized over the age of 60 years.

show abstract

“…3-Adrenergic antagonists continue to be one of the main medications used to treat hypertension (1)-a symptom afflicting about one-third of a population sample of the elderly in the United States (2). The effects and also fate of these antagonists show changes with age (3) that are difficult to explain on the basis ofwhat is known about the age-related features ofthe adrenergic system (1,(4)(5)(6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Regeneration of beta-adrenergic receptors in senescent rats: a study using an irreversible binding antagonist.

Pitha¹,

Hughes²,

Kusiak³

et al. 1982

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The drug used in this study, bromoacetylalprenololmenthane, has the ability to bind and block irreversibly a-adrenergic receptors. The drug was bound to membranes prepared from hearts, lungs, and brains of both senescent and young rats with a similar affinity. When this drug was injected into rats in nontoxic doses (up to 70 mg/kg), up to 90% of P-adrenergic receptors were irreversibly blocked 4 hr after injection, whereas the injection of similar amounts of (±)-alprenolol was without effect on receptor number. In senescent animals this blockade lasted considerably longer than in young animals; receptor numbers in hearts and lungs of senescent rats returned to control levels only 1 month after injection. The number of (3-adrenergic receptors in brains of senescent rats was unaffected by this drug. Thus, based upon the long-lasting blockade of -adrenergic receptors in therapeutically important organs, it appears that irreversible binding blockers may have potential in the treatments ofsenescent organisms.3-Adrenergic antagonists continue to be one of the main medications used to treat hypertension (1)-a symptom afflicting about one-third of a population sample of the elderly in the United States (2). The effects and also fate of these antagonists show changes with age (3) that are difficult to explain on the basis ofwhat is known about the age-related features ofthe adrenergic system (1,(4)(5)(6). In this work we studied the regeneration ofreceptors for these antagonists in senescent rats. Such a study can provide information concerning possible development of longer acting antagonists (7) and may eventually help in the clarification ofage effects on the adrenergic system. Bromoacetylalprenololmenthane, whose structure is given in Fig. 1, was used in this study. It was shown previously that this drug binds, at first reversibly, to a binding site of the p-adrenergic receptor and this reversible complex is transformed rapidly through a chemical reaction into a covalent receptor-drug complex that does not further bind molecules of agonists or antagonists (8). Furthermore, this drug has the advantage of high affinity for 3adrenergic receptors (8), as compared to similar compounds (9). Utilization of this drug in senescent rats revealed that the receptor number in some therapeutically important organs-such as heart and lung-remains below control levels for as long as 1 month after treatment. Thus, in senescence the rate ofregeneration, and probably the rate ofde novo synthesis of receptors, is low. The results point to the possibility of using irreversible blockade to perform "molecular surgery"-i.e., to excise part of the receptors in a senescent organism in a reasonably selective way and in a practically permanent manner. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe senescent animals, unless otherwise stated, were 27-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats that have a 2-yr median lifespan and were obtained from Harlan Industries (Indianapolis, IN). The animals used in the regeneration experiment were divided into groups of (i) drug tre...

show abstract

Drug Use in a Geriatric Population

Cited by 31 publications

References 11 publications

Evaluation of Psychotropic Drug Consumption Related to Psychological Distress in the Elderly: Hospitalized vs. Nonhospitalized

Evaluation of Psychotropic Drug Consumption Related to Psychological Distress in the Elderly: Hospitalized vs. Nonhospitalized

Health, Disorders, and Drug Consumption in an Elderly Population in Northern Sweden

Regeneration of beta-adrenergic receptors in senescent rats: a study using an irreversible binding antagonist.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About