What the elderly should know...

Multiple prescribing

Due to the likelihood of interactions, adverse effects and mistakes in taking medication, doctors agree that elderly people would be better off taking fewer rather than more drugs. Despite this, multiple prescribing is becoming more common.

The comparison of two population-based studies of ageing carried out 20 years apart found that the number of people taking five or more items quadrupled, while the proportion of people taking no medication fell from one in five to one in 13.