ALCOHOL & PRESCRIPTION DRUG INTERACTION IN THE ELDERLY

饮酒的老年人有更大的不良反应风险 由于酒精和处方药的相互作用， 对于一般的酒精使用者来说， 处方药的使用增加和生理变化 伴随着衰老过程。 尽管平均而言， 随着年龄的增长，他们会减少饮酒量， 似乎老年人饮酒的频率 变化 虽然有大量的临床信息， 酒精与药物的相互作用，大部分信息都是以 的严重不良反应和死亡病例报告， 大量酒精和处方药 之甚少 了解处方药合并使用的患病率 毒品和酒精的“正常”使用模式，即，低或中等 剂量情况，尤其是老年人。 因此，我们建议进行一项流行病学研究， 老年人使用酒精相互作用的处方药 人口（最大药品援助的持卡人） 宾夕法尼亚州药物援助计划（Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Assistance） 老年人合同- PACE）和一项纵向研究 这些持卡人的样本，包括饮酒者、前 饮酒者和终身戒酒者，他们使用这些药物。 这 后一项研究将评估与酒精有关的行为， 酒精-毒品使用相关风险，遵医行为，措施 功能状态（包括自我报告的身体和精神 健康）、不良反应和结果的体征和症状 与酒精-药物相互作用有关（例如，姿势性福尔斯 低血压等），这些行为和结果的变化 一年后。 这项研究的结果将具有重要意义。 的设计和实现的现实意义 在药物中包含酒精相关信息的计划 药物使用情况审查、药物监测和药物教育活动 在现有的和几个新出现的联邦和州计划中， 药物援助。

Elderly who drink alcohol are at greater risk for adverse effects due to the interaction of alcohol and prescription drugs compared to the general population of alcohol users because of the elderly's increased use of prescription drugs and the physiological changes which accompany the aging process. Although on the average elderly tend to decrease the quantity of alcohol they consume as they age, it appears that the frequency of drinking among the elderly may not change. While there is a great deal of clinical information about alcohol-drug interactions, much of this information is in the form of case reports of serious adverse effects and mortality involving large doses of alcohol and prescription drugs. Very little is known about the prevalence of the concomitant use of prescription drugs and alcohol in "normal" use patterns, i.e., low or moderate dose situations, especially among the elderly. Therefore, we propose to conduct both an epidemiologic study of the use of alcohol-interactive prescription drugs by an elderly population (card-holders in the largest pharmaceutical assistance program in the nation, the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly -- PACE) and a longitudinal study of samples of these cardholders, including alcohol drinkers, former drinkers, and lifetime abstainers, who use these drugs. This latter study will assess alcohol-related behaviors, knowledge of risks related to alcohol-drug use, compliance behaviors, measures of functional status (including self-reported physical and mental health), signs and symptoms of adverse effects and outcomes associated with alcohol-drug interactions (e.g., falls, postural hypotension, etc.), and changes in these behaviors and outcomes after one year. The results of this research will have important practical significance for the design and implementation of programs that include alcohol-related information in drug utilization review, drug surveillance and drug education activities in existing and several newly-emerging federal and state programs for pharmaceutical assistance.