Taking multiple medications? You may need to scale back

NEW YORK – Around one in five adults between the ages of 40 and 79 is taking five or more prescription drugs, according to data from the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the older patients are, the more likely it is they are taking even more medications.

While medicines can be critical for improving people’s quality of life, it is important to understand how they end up taking too many drugs unnecessarily and when to ask for help trimming their prescription list. Sometimes, medical professionals may prescribe drugs to treat the side effects of another medication, in what doctors refer to as a “prescription cascade”.

While polypharmacy is most common in older people, younger adults and children, particularly those with complicated chronic conditions such as epilepsy, learning disorders or mental health issues, can also end up on many medications. Experts suggest asking a primary-care doctor or pharmacist to do a full medication review at least once a year. Many pharmacies offer such evaluations under free medication therapy management programmes.

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