Drug side effects and the elderly

Researchers in Britain have found that commonly used drugs prescribed to half of those that are 65 or older lead to an increased incidence of death and mental health decline, especially when the drugs are prescribed in combination. The researchers' findings, which was published in the August 2011 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, suggest that these types of drugs negatively affect the brain and increase the risk of decline and death. The study found that patients taking a combination of prescription drugs were at greater risk.

Elderly people take approximately three times the amount of medications that younger people do. Although the elderly are prescribed a wide array of drugs, the most common drugs are heart medications, statins, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants.

Drugs that treat the cardiovascular system can result in nausea, vomiting, weight loss, anorexia, and bleeding problems. Statins' side effects include muscle weakness and pain (the most serious that can be life threatening), headaches, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, skin rash, and general weakness.

Benzodiazepines can result in sedation, confusion, and falls. The side effects of antidepressants include sedation, confusion, falls, low blood pressure, and urinary retention. Antidepressants also thin the blood. They decrease blood clotting capacity, increasing the risk for stomach and uterine bleeding. Add over the counter NSAID's taken at the same time and the risk doubles.

Other common drugs' side effects

Other commonly prescribed drugs also have a host of potentially harmful side effects. Examples include:

* Antipsychotic medications that are used to treat "mental disorders" can result in confusion, sedation, low blood pressure, falls, urinary retention, Parkinsonism (involuntary shaking and twitching), and tardive dyskinesia (repetitive body movements)

* Antihistamines used to treat allergies can result in confusion, sedation, low blood pressure, falls, sleep disturbance, and urinary retention

* Drugs that relieve nausea can lead to confusion, sedation, low blood pressure, falls, urinary retention, Parkinsonism, and tardive dyskinesia

* Pain medication can result in constipation, confusion, & sedation. Even over the counter medications can result in serious liver and gastrointestinal side effects.

* Drugs to treat Parkinson's disease can result in confusion, dizziness, low blood pressure, and an increase in cardiovascular toxicity

* Drugs to relieve muscle spasms can result in dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention, and delirium

* Urinary incontinence drugs can result in dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention, delirium, and confusion

All of these side effects relate to individual drugs. Imagine how these side effects can be compounded by taking several prescription drugs at a time.

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Flexibility adds years to our life

If you are over 50 years old and getting up from the floor requires both hands, you better watch out. You may not live as long as your flexible counterparts.

Those who can sit down and get up using only one hand — or no hands at all — are likely to live for longer, a study found. But those needing extra assistance, such as getting up on their knees or using two hands, are up to six times more likely to die prematurely.

Researchers said the ease with which someone could stand up from a sitting position on the floor — and vice versa — was ‘remarkably predictive’ of physical strength.

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Midlife fitness key to healthier ageing

Being physically fit during your 30s, 40s, and 50s not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of ageing healthily, free from chronic illness, say researchers.

For decades, research has shown that higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels lessen the risk of death, but it previously had been unknown just how much fitness might affect the burden of chronic disease in the most senior years - a concept known as morbidity compression.

"We've determined that being fit is not just delaying the inevitable, but it is actually lowering the onset of chronic disease in the final years of life," said Dr. Jarett Berry, assistant professor of internal medicine and senior author of the study.

Investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center and The Cooper Institute examined the patient data of 18,670 participants in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, research that contains more than 250,000 medical records maintained over a 40-year span.

These data were linked with the patients' Medicare claims filed later in life from ages 70 to 85. Analyses during the latest study showed that when patients increased fitness levels by 20 percent in their midlife years, they decreased their chances of developing chronic diseases - congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's disease, and colon cancer - decades later by 20 per cent.

"What sets this study apart is that it focuses on the relationship between midlife fitness and quality of life in later years. Fitter individuals aged well with fewer chronic illnesses to impact their quality of life," said Dr. Benjamin Willis of The Cooper Institute, first author on the study.

This positive effect continued until the end of life, with more-fit individuals living their final five years of life with fewer chronic diseases. The effects were the same in both men and women.

These data suggest that aerobic activities such as walking, jogging, or running translates not only into more years of life but also into higher quality years, compressing the burden of chronic illness into a shorter amount of time at the end of life, Dr. Berry said.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), adults should get at least 2 and half hours of moderate to intense aerobic activity each week to ensure major heart and overall health benefits.

The study results have been made available online in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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