Older adults taking 5 or more prescription drugs face higher risk of death, study finds

Key Points:

• A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older adults taking five or more prescription medications (polypharmacy) have a 38% higher risk of death compared to those taking fewer drugs, with each additional medication increasing mortality risk by 7%.
• Researchers analyzed data from 7,828 adults aged 65 and older over an average of 8.5 years, verifying medication use through direct inspection of pill bottles and identifying that over half of participants fell into at least one high-risk medication category.
• The study highlighted concerns about side effects, adverse drug reactions, and drug interactions, especially as aging affects the body's ability to process medications, with polypharmacy being the strongest predictor of mortality even after accounting for other risk factors.
• Experts recommend regular medication reviews with healthcare providers to assess the necessity and appropriateness of all prescriptions, rather than stopping medications based solely on this study, which shows association but not direct causation.
• Limitations of the research include its focus on community-dwelling older adults and reliance on medication data from a single 30-day period, preventing tracking of changes in prescriptions or health status over time.