A 42-year-old member asked:
How common are drug side effects in old adults?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

Dr. Kevin Considineanswered
Family Medicine 31 years experience
More common: Unfortunately as we get older our bodies are much less efficient at getting rid of medicine that we take. This means that a dose for a young adult may be half or less in the elderly depending on their liver kidney function. So often older patients take doses that are too much for them and therefore they get more side effects from this because a regular adult dose is like taking a double dose.
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated May 25, 2013
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