Elderly population drug utilization

R. B. Wallace, Drug utilization in the rural elderly Perspectives from a population study, in Geriatric Drug Use—Clinical and Social Perspectives (S. R. Moore and R. W. Teal, eds.), Permagon Press, New York, 1985, pp. 78-85. 

Studies of drug utilization in the elderly showed that older people receive disproportionate amounts of medication (Rochon and Gurwitz, 1995). A study in rural persons 65 years or older showed that, of 967 interviewed, 71% took at least one prescription drug and 10% took five or more prescription medications. Again, women took more medications than men, and in both groups, the number of dmgs increased with age. The elderly comprised 18% of the population but received 45% of all prescription items (Lassila et al., 1996). 

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