Pharmacoepidemiology of the elderly in Brazil: state of the art.
With improving socioeconomic conditions, longer life spans have become more common in developing countries-those with a growing economy increasing production, per capita consumption, and income. This has been the case in Brazil. If, on one hand, this phenomenon undoubtedly represents a major social achievement, there is also consensus that it provides a set of challenges for Brazilian society. Among these challenges: promoting rational drug use in the elderly. This article aims at presenting the current state of the pharmacoepidemiology of aging in Brazil. It describes the main components and needed advances in this field of knowledge. It also identifies areas that, if improved, will allow more consistent contributions to national drug policy and improve the quality of pharmacotherapy and other health conditions among Brazilian seniors.
Ribeiro
Andréia Q
AQ
Department of Nutrition and Health, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa (MG), Brazil. andreiaribeiro@hotmail.com
de A Acurcio
Francisco
F
Wick
Jeannette Y
JY
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001938:Brazil; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007880:Legislation, Drug; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008875:Middle Aged; D017891:Pharmacoepidemiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States