One-quarter of disabled seniors use medicines that are unsafe or inneffective for them

Nationwide analysis of medication use among older people

About one-quarter of Americans with disabilities age 65 and older reported using at least one prescription drug deemed inappropriate for persons his or her age, according to 2004 data just released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).  

The report also found:

Thirty-three medications are regarded as inappropriate for people 65 and older, including Xanax, Demerol, Darvon and Procardia, and should be avoided  because they are either ineffective or pose a high risk of side effects. In some cases a safer alternative is available.

Use of these drugs was more common among people with complex disabilities (27 percent) than those with basic disabilities (23 percent). Complex disabilities limit a person's ability to work or socialize while basic disabilities limit a person's ability to walk, bathe or carry out other everyday activities.

Older people with disabilities, regardless of their race or ethnicity, were at least twice as likely as older people without disabilities to have used an inappropriate prescription drug.

Seniors with disabilities who did not attend college were more likely to use potentially inappropriate drugs than those who went on to college.