Assessing Adverse Drug Reactions from Psychotropic Medications Reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Older Adults

Objective Identify trends in adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System in three subpopulations of older adults (ages 55–64, 65–74, 75+) receiving psychotropic medications. Methods Almost 12 years of ADR reports were compiled for adults over 55 years of age receiving psychotropic medications with known side effect profiles. A comparison of the frequency of ADRs reported, odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between subpopulations to the whole population of patients aged 55+ was conducted. Results ADRs reported in three subpopulations of older adults differed significantly when receiving the same psychotropic medications. For example, reports of increased blood glucose (OR, 1.8, CI, 1.4–2.2) were all significantly increased in the youngest population (55–64). Conclusion Current classification of age greater than 65 years when evaluating likely ADRs in older adults using psychotropic medications may be inadequate and require further assessment by subpopulations of older adults.