Drug effects in elderly subjects: from the pharmacologic target to the risk-benefit. Round Table #5 of the 16th National Clinical Pharmacology Workshop

In addition to being a fast-growing subpopulation, the elderly also receive large quantities of medication and are particularly exposed to iatrogenic effects. In France, 8.6 per cent of hospitalizations of patients over the age of 70 are due to an adverse event. This workshop comprising pharmaceutical companies, pharmacologists, geriatricians and health authorities aimed to make propositions for improving drug research in the elderly in order to prevent iatrogenic drug reactions by encouraging more rigorous application of existing guidelines. In addition to information extrapolated from clinical trials conducted on young or healthy people, it is imperative to include in clinical trials a sufficient number of elderly patients and to take into consideration specific criteria such as multiple medication regimens, concomitant diseases, cognitive impairment and motor disturbances. The assessment of drugs used in the elderly must be based on a specific and validated geriatrics scale and in some cases (postmarketing studies) may be based on specific trials (those called 'conducted in the real world').

Published by Therapie, 2001. The guideline itself is at the source linked here.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11677853/