Drug treatment and quality of life in the elderly

The QL of patients on long-term pharmacologic treatment needs to be evaluated, especially in the elderly. This article discusses how this should be done and gives the results of studies on three groups of drugs commonly taken by elderly patients. Diuretic treatment does not appear to grossly impair QL, transdermal nitrates for angina do impair QL if used continuously, and tolerance limits their efficacy. Antihypertensive drugs appear to vary widely in their effects on QL. Drugs such as ACE inhibitors, verapamil, and atenolol appear preferable to the older drugs such as methyldopa and the beta-blocker propranolol, which have a central action.