medications: the trap of lengthy prescriptions

Medications: The trap of excessively long prescriptions

May 3, 2026

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By Editor THE 03.05.2026 at 12:00 Subscribers

In older adults, multiple medications have become the norm. Yet, combining several drugs, often prescribed by different doctors, exposes patients to adverse effects, unforeseen interactions, and avoidable hospitalizations. This is a growing public health issue that remains poorly understood. How can we better control polypharmacy? Science and Future led the investigation.

Often combining Because they have several different health conditions, elderly people are often prescribed a very large number of medications. However, without reassessment of these prescriptions, the risks associated with polypharmacy can outweigh the expected benefits.

GARO/PHANIE

This article by Marie-Cécilia Duvernoy is taken from the monthly magazine Sciences et Avenir n°951, dated May 2026.

It's a fact that our elders' pillboxes are overflowing. Painkillers, medications for cardiovascular or digestive health, antidiabetics, anxiolytics, sleeping pills, antidepressants, and so on. Taken separately, each one is supposed to improve the patient's health. But the effects of taking them all at once remain poorly understood, especially in seniors whose metabolism is altered.

Drugs Medicine Senior