Medication use among senior Canadians • Health Matters Medication use among senior

Multiple medication use (prescription or OTC) is a common concern in relation to seniors’ health.2-5 In 2005, pharmacists dispensed an average of 35 prescriptions per person aged 60 to 79, and 74 prescriptions per person aged 80 or older, compared with an overall average of 14 prescriptions per Canadian.6 People who take several medications at once are more likely to have adverse drug reactions; seniors are particularly vulnerable because of co-morbidity and physiological changes that come with age.3,4,7-9 There is a need in Canada for information about the number of seniors who use medications and those who have an elevated risk of drug-related adverse events from multiple medication use. The current study addresses these issues with data from nationally representative samples of seniors living in private households and in long-term health care institutions (see The data). In addition, the study reveals the most commonly reported types of medications and health-related factors associated with seniors’ medication use. Medication use Nearly all residents of health care institutions were current medication users: 97% had taken some form of medication in the past two days (Table 1). As well, a large majority (76%) of seniors living in private households had done so. Among the household population, women were more likely than men to have taken medications in the past two days, and seniors aged 75 to 84 were more likely to have done so than those aged 65 to 74. Differences based on educational attainment or the use of proxy reporters were not evident. For seniors in institutions, the likelihood of taking medication did not differ by sex, age group, educational attainment, or proxy response.