Lawson B, Putnam W, Nicol K et al.
Canadian Family Physician 2004;50:1664-1670.

To determine what types of medication seniors in the community were using to manage osteoarthritis (OA), self-administered surveys were mailed by three family medicine community practice sites in Nova Scotia to seniors, aged ≥ 65 years. The seniors were on the electronic record of each practice site with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of OA (N=244). The response rate was 78% with:

• Approximately 15% indicating that they don’t use medication
• 74% using at least one type of self-care product
• 60% using non-prescribed medications
• 45% using herbal and natural health products.
• 52% using prescribed medications alone or in combination with self-care products.

The authors concluded that seniors’ use of prescribed and self-care products for OA is very high. Therefore, the authors advise physicians to be aware that patients seeking prescriptions likely are also using self-care products. As the potential for drug interactions is high, patients should be informed of the risks associated with taking multiple products.

Full article available online at: http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2004/Dec/vol50-dec-research-2.asp