May 19, 2026 05:20 PM
(This post was last modified: May 19, 2026 05:21 PM by C C.)
Who are the biggest drug users in most developed countries? Adults over age 65.
EXCERPTS: A 2022 systematic review of studies conducted across five continents estimated that 45% of these older adults concurrently take five or more medicines, defined as polypharmacy. A study focused on older Canadians found that 1 in 4 are prescribed ten or more drug classes. Over the past two decades, the proportion of older Americans prescribed multiple medications has risen by more than 300 percent.
This sounds bad – and yes – it's not great. But before jumping to conspiratorial conclusions about Big Pharma and its army of bribed, drug-dealing doctors taking advantage of seniors, let's remember that many drugs prescribed to older adults are absolutely beneficial.
[...] The remedy for overmedication is deprescribing, the process of discontinuing drugs that are either potentially harmful or no longer required. Not only does deprescribing save patients time, money, and reduce potential drug side effects, studies suggest that if done under the guidance of a physician, it either has no effect on mortality or even reduces mortality.
One key way deprescribing can improve the lives of older adults is through reducing the risk of falls. Many drugs cause drowsiness, fatigue, weakness, or other side effects that can make seniors unsteady. Moreover, some drugs that don't impart these side effects by themselves might do so in the presence of other drugs.
"When the number of prescribed medicines increases, the number of drug combinations increases exponentially, increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions," a team of scientists based in Canada wrote in a 2022 review... (MORE - missing details)
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Heh. Just not going to happen, apart from ceasing to visit the doctor. We need a two-tier healthcare slash clinic system that provides the voluntary option of frugal standards from the 1950s to 1970s (that would be protected from most litigation and bureaucracy) along with the current standards that are designed for wealthy people (if sans the similarly skyrocketing costs underlying insurance and Medicare) and the constant waves of endless government protocols that require ten employees to accomplish what one could do back in the mid-twentieth century.
EXCERPTS: A 2022 systematic review of studies conducted across five continents estimated that 45% of these older adults concurrently take five or more medicines, defined as polypharmacy. A study focused on older Canadians found that 1 in 4 are prescribed ten or more drug classes. Over the past two decades, the proportion of older Americans prescribed multiple medications has risen by more than 300 percent.
This sounds bad – and yes – it's not great. But before jumping to conspiratorial conclusions about Big Pharma and its army of bribed, drug-dealing doctors taking advantage of seniors, let's remember that many drugs prescribed to older adults are absolutely beneficial.
[...] The remedy for overmedication is deprescribing, the process of discontinuing drugs that are either potentially harmful or no longer required. Not only does deprescribing save patients time, money, and reduce potential drug side effects, studies suggest that if done under the guidance of a physician, it either has no effect on mortality or even reduces mortality.
One key way deprescribing can improve the lives of older adults is through reducing the risk of falls. Many drugs cause drowsiness, fatigue, weakness, or other side effects that can make seniors unsteady. Moreover, some drugs that don't impart these side effects by themselves might do so in the presence of other drugs.
"When the number of prescribed medicines increases, the number of drug combinations increases exponentially, increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions," a team of scientists based in Canada wrote in a 2022 review... (MORE - missing details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Heh. Just not going to happen, apart from ceasing to visit the doctor. We need a two-tier healthcare slash clinic system that provides the voluntary option of frugal standards from the 1950s to 1970s (that would be protected from most litigation and bureaucracy) along with the current standards that are designed for wealthy people (if sans the similarly skyrocketing costs underlying insurance and Medicare) and the constant waves of endless government protocols that require ten employees to accomplish what one could do back in the mid-twentieth century.
