As our parents age, it is common to see their medicine cabinet grow. A pill for blood pressure, another for cholesterol, something for blood sugar and, perhaps, a stomach protector. This phenomenon is technically known as polypharmacy in the elderly, generally defined as the daily consumption of five or more medications.
As children and caregivers, seeing a full pillbox raises an inevitable question: Do they really need all that, or are some pills causing more problems than they solve?
1. Identifying the real risks of polypharmacy
The intention of prescribing several drugs is always to improve health, but we cannot ignore the risks of polypharmacy. An older person's body does not process chemical compounds in the same way as a young person's.
Among the most common effects of polypharmacy in old age are:
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Dizziness and an increased risk of falls.
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Mental confusion or memory loss (which is sometimes mistakenly confused with dementia).
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Dangerous drug interactions.
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Severe digestive problems.
Knowing how to prevent polypharmacy is essential to ensuring that your parents have a better quality of life in their old age, rather than one merely burdened with drugs.
2. Understanding why drugs work differently
You have probably noticed it: a medicine works wonders for one family member, but causes immediate nausea in another. If you wonder why drugs work differently in different people, the answer may lie in their DNA. Every person is a biological world of their own, and pharmacogenetic variation in drug action is the key to understanding these differences.
3. Applying pharmacogenetics and personalised medicine
Knowing how to prevent polypharmacy is fundamental. This is where pharmacogenetics and personalised medicine come into play. This discipline studies how individual genetics influence the response to medications, allowing doctors to adjust doses with surgical precision instead of using the "trial and error" method.
4. Analysing metabolism to avoid toxicity
The liver is our body's laboratory. Pharmacogenetics and the study of drug metabolism tell us whether your parents' bodies metabolise a medicine "quickly", "normally" or "slowly".
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If they metabolise it very slowly: The drug can accumulate, which can lead to toxicity (side effects).
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If they metabolise it very quickly: The medication does not reach the therapeutic dose and is eliminated before taking effect (therapeutic inefficacy).
5. Using advanced diagnostic tools
The clinical application of pharmacogenetics allows a doctor, through a DNA test, to know in advance which pill is the correct one, avoiding the dangerous "trial and error" method in people who are already vulnerable.
In addition to DNA tests, at tellmeGen we offer the possibility of obtaining a pharmacogenetic report based on your results. This study is essential for understanding how each person's body processes active ingredients, making it possible to identify which drugs are most effective and which could cause adverse reactions.
