ALCOHOL & PRESCRIPTION DRUG INTERACTION IN THE ELDERLY

饮酒的老年人有更大的不良反应风险 由于酒精与处方药的相互作用比较 对饮酒的普通人群来说，因为老年人的 处方药使用量的增加与生理变化 伴随着衰老过程。尽管平均而言，老年人 随着年龄的增长，他们往往会减少饮酒量， 看起来，老年人饮酒的频率可能不会 变化。虽然有大量的临床信息 酒精与药物的相互作用，其中大部分信息都是以 涉及严重不良反应和死亡的病例报告 大剂量的酒精和处方药。很少有 了解伴随使用处方的盛行情况 毒品和酒精的“正常”使用模式，即低度或中度 在这种情况下，特别是在老年人中。 因此，我们建议进行一项流行病学研究，以了解 一名老年人使用酒精互动处方药的情况 人口(持卡人中最大的药物援助 宾夕法尼亚州药物援助计划 老年合同--PACE)和纵向研究 这些持卡人的样本，包括饮酒者，前 饮酒者和终生戒酒者，他们使用这些药物。这 后一项研究将评估与酒精相关的行为，了解 与酒精-药物使用、遵守行为、措施有关的风险 功能状态(包括自我报告的身体和精神状态 健康)、不良影响和后果的体征和症状 与酒精-药物相互作用有关(例如，跌倒、姿势 低血压等)，以及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的意义 该系统的设计与实现具有重要的现实意义 在药物中包含与酒精相关的信息的程序 药物利用审查、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 寻求药物援助。

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.