Year of Publication
2022
College
Martin School of Public Policy and Administration
Date Available
6-17-2022
Degree Name
Master of Public Administration
Committee Chair
Dr. Karen Blumenschein
Executive Summary
Many prescription medications can either directly or indirectly interact with alcohol and many chronic conditions may be worsened by alcohol use. Medications, such as antihypertensives, anticoagulants, and gastrointestinal agents, can be dangerous when taken with alcohol and can lead to loss of consciousness, falls, serious bleeding and other issues. Chronic conditions, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, hypertension and cirrhosis can directly be worsened with alcohol consumption. These potential complications are pertinent to all ages, but there is greater concern of these interactions in older adults, defined as adults over 65 years old. Using survey data from older adults in Lexington, KY, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the prevalence of alcohol-interactive medications and alcohol-interactive disease states with concurrent alcohol use in this population. The aim of this study was to investigate older adults in Kentucky using medications that that interact with alcohol or have disease states that can be worsened or caused by alcohol. These findings could help determine if there is a gap in care regarding this issue. If a gap in care is identified, then possible interventions to make, such as re-structuring pharmacist alcohol screening to include these interactions, will be investigated and a need for further research will be determined.
Recommended Citation
Hull, Jackson, "Prevalence of Alcohol-Interactive Medications and Conditions With Concurrent Alcohol Use in Older Adults" (2022). MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects. 335.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/mpampp_etds/335
