|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
A survey of the number of medications taken by patients 70 years of age and over with diabetes
Martin Cosgrove
Cosgrove Brookfields Health Centre, Seymour Street, Cambridge, CB1 3DQ, UK, m.cosgrove{at}ntlworld.com
Diabetes is a condition where multiple risk factors must be controlled to prevent and treat vascular disease. Polypharmacy is therefore an inevitable consequence of treating diabetes, particularly for the older patient for whom the risk of a fatal vascular event is far greater. The older diabetes patient is also more likely to have coexistent conditions that need treating. This article describes the level of polypharmacy in patients with diabetes who are 70 years in one general practice. These patients were taking a mean of four cardio-diabetes medications (three for vascular disease/risk factors and one for diabetes). In addition to their cardio-diabetes medications, the average patient was also taking three medications for co-existent conditions.
Key Words: diabetes polypharmacy medication prescriptions co-morbidity.
References
- National Service Framework for older people: medicines and older people. Department of Health.
- Winocour PH Effective Diabetes Care: a need for realistic targets. BMJ 2002;324:1577-80.[Free Full Text]
- Donnan PT, MacDonald TM, Morris AD for the DARTS/MEMO Collaboration. Adherence to prescribed oral hypoglycaemic medication in a population of patients with type 2 diabetes: a retrospective cohort study. Diabetic Med 2002;19:279-84.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Morris AD The reality of type 2 diabetes treatment today. Int J Clin Pract Suppl 2001;121:32-5.[Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease, Vol. 3, No. 5,
361-363 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/14746514030030050901

CiteULike Complore Connotea Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Technorati Twitter What's this?
|
|