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Psychotropic Drugs and Multicomorbidity in Older Adults
Two professors spoke at ASCP 2016 about the significance of individualized psychotropic medication treatment plans for older adults as well as how medical conditions can impact mental illness.
Research suggests that psychotropic/psychoactive drugs and the total “load” of these drugs may be associated with an increase in the rate and risk of all hospitalizations within a single skilled nursing facility.
Demetra Antimisiaris, PharmD, CGP, FASCP, University of Louisville School of Medicine (Louisville, KY), and Chris Alderman, PhD, CGP, FSHP, BCPP, University of South Australia (Adelaide, South Australia), explained the importance of patient-centered pharmacological profiles, the differences between psychoactive drug classes and difference of specific agents with these classes, and the relationships of these drugs to multicomorbidities.
According to the presenters, 20% of people aged 55 and older experience some type of mental health concern, the most common being anxiety, severe cognitive impairment, and mood disorders, but older adults are less likely to endorse mental health problems than younger adults.
Depression, said the presenters, is the most prevalent mental health concern in older adults and adversely affects the course and treatment of chronic disease. Depressed older adults also use more health care resources than those without.
Presenters were careful to note that, although rates of depressive disorders increase with age, depression is not a normal part of aging, and 80% of cases are indeed treatable. —Amanda Del Signore
