Clinical Trials and the Elderly
Authors: Susan Gold, A. Mark Clarfield
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1991)

Letters15 September 1991Clinical Trials and the ElderlySusan Gold, MD, A. Mark Clarfield, MDSusan Gold, MDSearch for more papers by this author, A. Mark Clarfield, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-115-6-497_1 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editors: We applaud the well-designed study of Wassertheil-Smoller and colleagues (1). It is unfortunate, however, that patients more than 65 years of age were excluded from the study, because it is precisely this age group that has the highest prevalence of hypertension (2). Furthermore, such patients are often felt to have the greatest risk for adverse drug reactions (3).Elderly patients have often been excluded from research protocols (4), despite the fact that the clinical problem under study is often prevalent in older patients. Why must this practice continue?...References1. Wassertheil-SmollerBlaufoxObermanDavisSwencionisO'Connel Knerr SMABCM. Effect of antihypertensives on sexual function and quality of life: the TAIM study. Ann Intern Med. 1991;114:613-20. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Applegate W. Hypertension in elderly patients. Ann Intern Med. 1989;110:901-15. LinkGoogle Scholar3. WilliamsonChopin JJ. Adverse reactions to prescribed drugs in the elderly: A multicenter investigation. Age Ageing. 1980;9:73. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. ClarfieldFriedman AR. Survey of the age structure of "age relevant" articles in four general medical journals. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1985:33:773-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. . Prevention of stroke by antihypertensive drug treatment in older persons with isolated systolic hypertension. JAMA. 1991;265:3255-64. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. LangfordDavisBlaufoxObermanWassertheil-SmollerHawkins HBDASM. Hypertension. 1991;17:210-17. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. ObermanWassertheil-SmollerLangfordBlaufoxDavisBlaszkowski ASHMBT. Pharmacologic and nutritional treatment of mild hypertension: changes in cardiovascular risk status. Ann Intern Med. 1990;112:89-95. LinkGoogle Scholar4. Wassertheil-SmollerBlaufoxObermanDavisSwencionisO'Connel Knerr SMABCM. Effect of antihypertensives on sexual function and quality of life: the TAIM study. Ann Intern Med. 1991;114:613-20. LinkGoogle Scholar5. Wylie-RosettSwencionisPetersDornelasEdlen-NezinDeVito JCMELL. Effects of a behavioral intervention on weight, glucose and lipids in an elderly population. Abstracts of the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, March 20-23, 1990. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Sir Mortimer B. Davis—Jewish General Hospital Montreal, Quebec PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByEssais thérapeutiques chez le sujet âgé: particularités éthiques et méthodologiquesExclusion of Certain Groups from Clinical Research 15 September 1991Volume 115, Issue 6Page: 497-497KeywordsAdverse reactionsAge groupsClinical trialsElderlyHypertension Issue Published: 15 September 1991 PDF DownloadLoading ...