Seniors not taking medications as
directed
more likely to face long-term health problems
Kaiser Family Foundation
Friday, June 25, 2004
Senior citizens who did not follow their prescribed drug regimens
because they could not cover the costs were 76% more likely in the long
run to have an overall "major decline in health" than elderly
patients who followed their doctors' orders, according to a study
published Friday in Medical Care, a journal of the American Public
Health Association, Scripps Howard/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, is the first to
record "the extent of harm that occurs over time from restricting
such regimens due to cost," Scripps Howard/Democrat-Gazette
reports. In the three-year study, lead author Dr. Michele Heisler, a
researcher from the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and colleagues from
the University of Michigan Medical School's Institute for Social
Research surveyed 8,000 older adults. Participants initially were
questioned in 1992, again in 1995 or 1996 and a final time in 1999. The
participants were separated into one group of people between the ages of
51 and 61 at the beginning of the survey and another group of people who
were at least 70 when the study began.
Findings At the start of the study, there were "no significant
differences" between the medical records of those who did and did
not take medications for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or
strokes, Scripps Howard/Democrat-Gazette reports. However, by the end of
the study, 11.9% of people who did not comply with their recommended
prescription drug regimens had been affected by chest pain, compared
with 8.2% of those who took their medications as directed. The study
also found that 7.3% of patients who limited drugs had a nonfatal heart
attack or stroke, compared with 5.3% of the compliant group. Overall,
patients who did not adhere to their course of medication therapy were
50% more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or chest-pain episode and
76% more likely to be affected by a major decline in total health than
those who took their recommended medications as directed.
Specific Conditions The study also found that people who were older than
70 and had depression experienced a "significant worsening" of
depression if they cut back on their medicine, Scripps
Howard/Democrat-Gazette reports. However, the study found no significant
differences between people who restricted or stayed on their prescribed
drugs for the onset or worsening of diabetes or arthritis. Heisler said
that it might take more time for the long-term effect of decreased
prescription drugs for those conditions to become apparent. Heisler
said, "A lot of critics are saying it's too expensive to provide or
improve drug coverage, but studies like this show that the downstream
costs from adverse health outcomes later may be more expensive"
(Bowman, Scripps Howard/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6/25).
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