ABSTRACT
The elderly has a high risk of ADR due to several factors such as polypharmacy, impaired organ function, and pharmacokinetic changes. The aim of this study was to review the medications highly associated with ADR and to estimate the risk of ADRs in the elderly. Data from MADRAC in 2015 were used to calculate the risk of ADRs. From the 6862 ADR reports, 1578 cases were identified to be associated with the elderly with a mean age of 68.3 ± 6.7 years. The majority of them were Malays (45.5%), followed by Chinese (35.3%) and Indians (11.3%). The drug classes frequently implicated were antihypertensive agents (n = 389), followed by anti-infective (n = 195) and antihyperlipidemic (n = 147) agents. Antihypertensive agents showed an odds ratio of 2.62 (95% CI 1.94–3.53) and 3.61 (95% CI 2.55–5.11) for the risk of CNS disorders and respiratory disorders. Anti-infective agents showed an odds ratio of 4.30 (95% CI 4.29–2.99) for the risk associated with skin and appendage disorders. This study showed that cardiovascular drugs and anti-infective agents were highly associated with the occurrence of ADRs.
