A new study explored the correlation between older, hospitalized women and adverse drug reactions.
When hospitalized, 28% of women experienced one or more adverse drug reactions compared to 21% of men, according to the report published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers looked at sex differences in the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) in 1,537 participants. Of them, 47.2% were women, and the average age of people in the study was 78. Data came from six large European medical centers.
The team evaluated data on sex differences relating to PIMs and PPOs within 48 hours of being hospitalized. The investigators also assessed adverse reactions at 14 days from admission or discharge (whichever came first). When they looked at nine of the 11 criteria for PIMs, it showed a significant sex difference that occurred more often in women than in men. All four criteria for PPOs showed criteria were all more frequent in women compared to men. Men and women were matched based on similar health issues.
Criteria for PIMs and PPOs were reached more frequently in older women compared to men during acute hospitalization. This may contribute to the higher rate of adverse reactions in women.
Men and women were both on a median of 10 daily long-term medications, yet adverse reactions were 40% higher in older women than older men, the data showed. The team wrote that there are several reasons why older women with multimorbidity who are exposed to polypharmacy might have more adverse events compared to older men who are also on multiple medicines.
Some physiological sex differences include slower gastric emptying and gastrointestinal motility, lower lean body mass or higher body fat, reduced liver drug clearance, lower plasma protein binding, and renal drug elimination in women compared to men,” the authors wrote.“Prescribers should be aware of certain PIMs and PPOs that occur more frequently in older women than older men as they may contribute to the higher incidence of ADRs in older women,” the authors wrote.
