Temporal changes in medication use and disease management in old age: where does it all end?

An increased number of available medications, people requiring them, and concomitant disease states in one individual,inevitably lead to greater medication use at the population level. Pharmacoepidemiological studies in older adults have shown an increasing use of several classes of medications overtime [1–3]. In this issue of the journal, Gao et al.[4] investigate the temporal trends in the use of medications in older adults in England in two comparable cohorts participating in the Cognitive Function and Aging Study I (CFAS I,n= 7,359,period 1991–94) and the Cognitive Function and Aging Study II (CFAS II,n= 7,614, period 2008–11). Participants in both studies underwent similar structured interviews regarding the use of prescribed and over the counter medications, including their name, dose, frequency and quantity, as well as clinical and demographic characteristics.