Good Lifestyle

Socket prescription drugs is the standard in this country. About half of us have been prescribed at At least one medication in the past 30 days, according to the centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The problem suggests some researchers is not that people are medicated, but on the amount of medication they take. Among those who take prescription drugs, the median number is four, by Singlecare. But the simultaneous use of several drugs, called polypharmacy, is a discord in the medical field. Polypharmacy has been linked to many health problems, and now new research puts light more on its association with dementia. Read the rest to find out how to take several drugs could increase your risk of cognitive impairment.

Read this then: 4 current drugs that increase your risk of dementia, according to a pharmacist .

Polypharmacy refers Regular use of several drugs - generally five or more - in competition. This has become an increasing health problem, especially for the elderly more likely to be prescribed different drugs for several chronic conditions, according to the National Institute on Agging (NIA). For the context, around a third of American adults in sixties and the 1970s would apparently take Five prescription drugs or more, according to the CDC.

In a research report in 2021, NIA warned that the use of excessive drugs was linked to several health problems. This includes an increased risk of undesirable effects of drugs, harmful drug interactions and drug interactions.

"Polypharmacy has many negative consequences , " Saljoughien Manouchehr , PHD, pharmacist at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, California, warned in an article for the American pharmacist Journal in 2019.

Now new research examines the link between taking several drugs and dementia.

One of the potential effects of undesirable drugs of excessive use of drugs is cognitive impairment, according to NIA. Recently, a study of October 11 published in the Aging and disease log sought to investigate more The link between polypharmacy and dementia. Researchers from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom have analyzed medical records of more than 33,000 patients with dementia in Wales from 1990 to 2015 to do this.

The new research revealed that 82% of patients took three or more drugs in the five years preceding their dementia diagnosis. In comparison, only 5.5% used as many drugs 16 to 20 years before the diagnosis of dementia, according to the study.

These results stress that taking many drugs "can affect cognitive function and increase the risk of developing dementia", " Naheed Ali , PHD, a Doctor of internal medicine And doctor editor at Medical Copywriting Services, which was not involved in the study, said Better life .

For more health information delivered directly in your reception box, Register for our daily newsletter .

This is not the first survey on the link between polypharmacy and dementia. A 2019 systematic review and a meta-analysis published in the Aging and mental health log Summary of previous research on this link, because "the association between polypharmacy and dementia is controversial" in the world of health. The researchers carried out a systematic literature review to bring together six studies from 2008 to 2017.

According to meta-analysis, these previous studies indicate that the simultaneous use of five or more drugs increases the risk of dementia by 30%. This increases even more with excessive polypharmacy: when the researchers pushed the threshold to 10 or more drugs, they found that the risk of dementia was 52% higher.

"Polypharmacy, the simultaneous use of several drugs by an individual, has proven to be associated with several negative results for health. In this analysis, dementia was another negative state of health associated with polypharmacy," concluded Researchers. "In addition, excessive polypharmacy which is the simultaneous use of 10 or more drugs by a patient, was also associated with dementia."

There are many types of dementia, the most common being Alzheimer's disease. But good Millions of elderly In the United States, the United States has been afflicted, dementia is not a normal part of aging, according to the CDC. The agency claims that there are many factors that increase the risk of developing dementia, including "age, family history, race, ethnic origin, poor heart health and traumatic brain damage". AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

But how does multiple medication take act as a risk factor for dementia?

Nancy Mitchell , an authorized nurse with more than 37 years of experience Treatment of dementia patients , said that it comes to the fact that when certain drugs interact, the side effects are amplified.

"Some drugs can cause symptoms of cognitive decline such as memory loss and brain fog, but combined with other drugs, they could put additional stress on the brain and the nervous system in general," said Mitchell. "In the end, this increases the risk of these chronic stressors of long -term damage to brain cells and cognitive health as a whole."

Best Life offers the most recent information from high -level experts, new research and health agencies, but our content is not supposed to replace professional advice. Regarding the medication you take or any other health issue you have, always consult your health care provider directly.