Journal article
Medication Use Characteristics in the Elderly: The Iowa 65+ Rural Health Study
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), Vol.35(1), pp.4-12
01/1987
DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1987.tb01312.x
PMID: 3794145
Abstract
Medication use was studied in a rural, elderly population. Household interviews were conducted of 3,467 individuals aged 65 years or older. A total of 9,955 prescription or nonprescription drugs were reported by the respondents. The overall mean number of drugs per respondent was 2.87, while 12% of all respondents were not taking any drugs. Mean prescription and overall drug use increased significantly with increasing age (P < .001), while mean nonprescription drug use was relatively constant across age groups. Significantly more women were prescription and nonprescription drug users. Directions for scheduled daily dosing accounted for 75% of all directions. The majority of prescription and nonprescription drugs had been taken on the previous day. General practitioners accounted for more prescription drugs (39.7%) than any other medical specialty. The most frequently stated purpose was cardiovascular for prescription drugs and musculoskeletal for nonprescription drugs. The three most frequent prescription drug therapeutic categories were cardiovascular (54.7%), central nervous system (CNS) agents (11.4%), and analgesics (9.4%). For nonprescription drugs, the three most frequent therapeutic categories were analgesics (39.6%), vitamins and minerals (32.9%), and laxatives (14.1%). Implications of these findings are discussed. 1987 The American Geriatrics Society
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Medication Use Characteristics in the Elderly: The Iowa 65+ Rural Health Study
- Creators
- Dennis K. Helling - University of IowaJon H. Lemke - University of IowaTodd P. Semla - University of IowaRobert B. Wallace - University of IowaDavid P. Lipson - University of Pacific, School of PharmacyJoan Cornoni-Huntley - National Institute on Aging
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), Vol.35(1), pp.4-12
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1987.tb01312.x
- PMID
- 3794145
- NLM abbreviation
- J Am Geriatr Soc
- ISSN
- 0002-8614
- eISSN
- 1532-5415
- Publisher
- Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Number of pages
- 9
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/1987
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology; Injury Prevention Research Center; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984364427602771
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