Are you taking too many medicines? Study says stopping some drugs could be safe for this age group

For many seniors, early morning starts with a stack of medications for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and heart disease. However, a new global review reveals that in frail older adults, continuing every long-term prescription may not always be necessary. In fact, carefully reducing or stopping certain medications could be safe and beneficial, reports Times of India's Anuja Jaiswal.

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Published in BMC Geriatrics, the study analyzed patients with advanced frailty, dementia, or limited life expectancy—groups often prescribed multiple drugs with unclear long-term benefits. Researchers discovered that discontinuing some medications did not increase mortality or major complications in most cases, suggesting a potential shift in how doctors manage prescriptions for the elderly.


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Many of these medications are designed to prevent health issues years down the line, but for frail or seriously ill seniors, those long-term benefits may never be realized. Instead, taking multiple drugs can raise the risk of dizziness, weakness, confusion, and falls, often resulting in hospitalization. Doctors warn that this pattern of “polypharmacy” — using several medicines simultaneously — is becoming increasingly common among India’s elderly population.

"They often see multiple specialists and prescriptions are not always reviewed together. In frail older adults, over-treatment can do more harm than good - for instance, aspirin for primary prevention should be avoided, excessive blood pressure control can lead to falls, and drugs like diuretics, insulin or sulfonylureas can cause electrolyte imbalance or hypoglycaemia. The focus sho-uld be on reducing medicines where the risks outweigh the benefits," Dr Pulin Gupta, professor in the department of medicine at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, told TOI.


"In frail elderly patients, stopping some preventive medicines is generally safe if done carefully, though those with prior heart attack or stroke need caution," Dr Rommel Tickoo, director of internal medicine at Max Hospital, Saket, was quoted as saying by TOI. He added that commonly overused drugs include statins for primary prevention, tightly controlled diabetes medicines like insulin or sulfonylureas, multiple blood pressure drugs, sleeping pills, long-term acid suppressants, and anticholinergics.

"Deprescribing should be structured - based on goals of care, frailty and life expectancy - with careful tapering and monitoring," he said, noting that reducing medicines often leads to fewer falls, better cognition, and improved energy levels.

Families often assume more medicines mean better care, but the opposite can be true: each added drug raises the risk of interactions. The review reflects a shift from aggressive prevention to patient-centered care, where treatment aligns with individual health priorities. Experts caution that medications should not be stopped casually; any reduction must be supervised, with each drug carefully reviewed for necessity.