Are you familiar with drug iatrogenism? This practice consists of misusing drugs (bad dosage, multiple treatments, etc.). It promotes negative effects on our health and leads to sometimes dangerous disorders. Seniors who take a lot of medication are most affected by this behavior.
The numbers speak for themselves. 71% of over 50s and 86% of over 75s take medication once or more times a day, for ten years in half of the cases. On average, four per day, according to a survey carried out for Leem and the French Institute for Seniors.
Despite these heavy treatments, seniors seem to behave responsibly when it comes to medication. Only 19% say they sometimes forget to take them, 16% stop a treatment on their own and 2% say they have the wrong dose or confused them.
But, the survey also reveals that the use of inappropriate drugs, often linked to multiple pathologies, is observed in more than half of patients over 75 years (53.5%). “The main consequence of this excessive or inappropriate intake of drugs is the occurrence of interactions or adverse effects, responsible for 128,000 hospitalizations per year, while one in four (28%) these accidents are considered preventable” recalls the Leem in a statement. The fight against drug-induced iatrogenism in the elderly is a real public health issue.
Medicines are there to help you but … they sometimes have a hard time living together
So, to fight against drug iatrogenism, the Pharmaceutical Companies (Leem) are launching a fight program to improve the proper use of treatments, especially among the elderly.
A “guide to the proper use of drugs” will be included in the main press titles intended for seniors and will also be available in waiting rooms. And a website www.reflexeiatrogenie.com will take over all the elements of the campaign.
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