Overprescribed: Elderly Women at Risk

Elderly women, more than elderly men, are overprescribed medications, according to a study conducted by the University of British Columbia.

How do they compare to men? One in four elderly men receive inappropriate prescriptions, while one in three elderly women do.

“Being a woman is double jeopardy when it comes to taking medications,” Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Gender and Health, said in a statement. “Women metabolize drugs differently than men. Gender roles and social circumstances also place them at risk.”

For women, the study also found that ethnicity mattered. Women who were either Chinese or South Asian experienced lower rates of inappropriate prescription, a study author noted. However, being married or having a high income made no difference.

Click here to read the release.

--Stephanie Vaccaro

Reference:

1. University of British Columbia. Elderly women more likely to be overprescribed prescription drugs: UBC study [press release]. www.eurekalert.org. 2016 May 5.