International Journal of Drug Research and Technology

Drug Related Issues in Geriatric Psychiatry

Abstract

Andrew Wood*

Due to multi morbidity, frequent exposure to poly pharmacy, impairment of organ functions (especially liver and kidney) and age-related changes in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of several drugs (such as increased benzodiazepine sensitivity), the European Medicines Agency and the International Conference on Harmonization consider the elderly to be a special population. A large German registry study showed that people with severe mental illness are suffering more frequently from somatic comorbidities and display a higher mortality rate than people without severe mental illness, leading to a reduction in life expectancy of up to 12.3 years. Elderly psychiatric patients must therefore be regarded as a particularly vulnerable population that deserves special care and attention. The purpose of the present study was to determine the frequency and characteristics of clinically relevant MRPs in a population of elderly psychiatric To this end, we conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients aged 60 and older who were treated on the gerontopsychiatric ward of the Hannover Medical School's Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.