Polypharmacy

Abstract

The management of older adults with diabetes involves a number of challenges. An important challenge in this patient population is the appropriate prescribing of medications. Medications are used to treat a host of problems: hyperglycemia, common comorbid conditions (such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia), and microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes. Each of these conditions may require several medications; new drug development (such as the introduction of incretin mimetics) will likely further add to this medication burden (1,2). In addition, elderly patients with diabetes are often at risk of developing certain geriatric syndromes (including cognitive impairment, injurious falls, urinary incontinence, and depression) that warrant additional drug treatment (3). As a result, older individuals with diabetes are often prescribed many medications. But how many medications are “too many”?.