title: Polypharmacy and food-drug interactions among older persons: a review.
abstract: Polypharmacy is generally defined as the use of 5 or more prescription medications on a regular basis. The average number of prescribed and over-the-counter medications used by community-dwelling older adults per day in the United States is 6 medications, and the number used by institutionalized older persons is 9 medications. Almost all medications affect nutriture, either directly or indirectly, and nutriture affects drug disposition and effect. This review will highlight the issues surrounding polypharmacy, food-drug interactions, and the consequences of these interactions for the older adult.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Environmental Studies, Central Michigan University, Mt Pleasant, Michigan 48859, USA. heube1ra@cmich.edu
authors.forename: Roschelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heuberger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018565:Food-Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D019338:Polypharmacy