For Healthcare Providers

Polypharmacy and frailty: prevalence, relationship, and impact on mortality in a French sample of 2350 old people

M. Herr, J.M. Robine, J. Pinot, et al.

Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety. 2015;24(6):637-46

Polypharmacy is associated to several negative outcomes as drug-drug interactions and mortality. Frail older people often have multiple chronic conditions and may therefore be particularly at risk of polypharmacy. This cross-sectional population study aimed to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy and frailty, to examine their association, and to establish their independent and combined effects on mortality in a sample of 2350 French older people aged 70 years and over. This study emphasizes the importance of the combined effects of two prevalent condition in older people, polypharmacy and frailty, on mortality risk.

Association of Hearing Impairment With Incident Frailty and Falls in Older Adults

R.J. Kamil, J. Betz, B. Brott Powers, et al.

Journal of Aging and Health. 2016;28(4):644-60

The hearing impairment (HI) is highly prevalent but undertreated in older adults and, although it contributes to frailty risk, it remains poorly studied. This study aimed at determining whether HI in older adults is associated with the development of frailty and falls. This study demonstrate that moderate or greater HI is associated with increased risk of developing frailty and that HI is associated with an increased annual risk of falling.

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