How Age and Health Affect Medication in Our Bodies
Age and health can really change how our bodies handle medications. This includes how drugs are absorbed, spread through the body, broken down, and removed. We call this process ADME.
Age: As people get older, their stomachs change. Older adults often have a higher stomach acid level, which can affect how well certain medications dissolve and are absorbed.
Health Status: Certain health issues, like diabetes, can slow down how fast food and medication leave the stomach. For example, in healthy people, around 70-90% of medications taken by mouth reach their highest level in the blood within 1-3 hours. But for those with stomach issues, it might take longer.
Age: In older adults, the amount of water in the body goes down by about 20%, and body fat increases by about 25%. This change can affect how drugs move around in the body. Medicines that dissolve in fat might spread more, while those that dissolve in water might spread less.
Health Status: If someone has a disease that affects proteins in their blood, like liver disease, it can make it harder for drugs that usually bind to these proteins to do so. This means more of the drug can be active in the body.
Age: After age 40, the liver's ability to break down drugs decreases by about 1% each year. This can slow down how quickly some medications are processed.
Health Status: If someone has liver disease, it could reduce how fast drugs are broken down by 50-80%. This means doctors might need to change the dose of the medication.
Age: Kidney function usually decreases with age. After age 40, the ability of the kidneys to filter blood drops about 1% each year. By age 80, this can be up to a 40% decrease compared to younger people.
Health Status: People with chronic kidney disease might have even more trouble getting rid of medications from their bodies, which can lead to dangerous levels of the drugs.
Because of these factors, it's really important for doctors to think about a person's age and health when deciding how to treat them with medications.
How Age and Health Affect Medication in Our Bodies
Age and health can really change how our bodies handle medications. This includes how drugs are absorbed, spread through the body, broken down, and removed. We call this process ADME.
Age: As people get older, their stomachs change. Older adults often have a higher stomach acid level, which can affect how well certain medications dissolve and are absorbed.
Health Status: Certain health issues, like diabetes, can slow down how fast food and medication leave the stomach. For example, in healthy people, around 70-90% of medications taken by mouth reach their highest level in the blood within 1-3 hours. But for those with stomach issues, it might take longer.
Age: In older adults, the amount of water in the body goes down by about 20%, and body fat increases by about 25%. This change can affect how drugs move around in the body. Medicines that dissolve in fat might spread more, while those that dissolve in water might spread less.
Health Status: If someone has a disease that affects proteins in their blood, like liver disease, it can make it harder for drugs that usually bind to these proteins to do so. This means more of the drug can be active in the body.
Age: After age 40, the liver's ability to break down drugs decreases by about 1% each year. This can slow down how quickly some medications are processed.
Health Status: If someone has liver disease, it could reduce how fast drugs are broken down by 50-80%. This means doctors might need to change the dose of the medication.
Age: Kidney function usually decreases with age. After age 40, the ability of the kidneys to filter blood drops about 1% each year. By age 80, this can be up to a 40% decrease compared to younger people.
Health Status: People with chronic kidney disease might have even more trouble getting rid of medications from their bodies, which can lead to dangerous levels of the drugs.
Because of these factors, it's really important for doctors to think about a person's age and health when deciding how to treat them with medications.