The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 61:874 (2006)
© 2006 The Gerontological Society of America
AUTHORS' RESPONSE
David V. Espino, MD and
Raymond F. Palmer, PhD
Department of Family and Community Medicine The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Address correspondence to David V. Espino, MD, or Raymond F. Palmer, PhD, Department of Family and Community Medicine, UTHSC at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr., MC 7795, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900. E-mail: espino{at}uthscsa.edu or palmerr{at}uthscsa.edu
Authors' Response
Dr. Cheng makes the astute observation that the implications of this manuscript are not entirely clear. Indeed, we do not know if addressing major polypharmacy in actual medical practice will improve mortality outcomes. It is also unknown what preexisting conditions, when combined with major polypharmacy, are most likely to increase mortality in the older Mexican-American population. These are excellent future research questions. As mentioned, our article is preliminary and serves to call attention to major polypharmacy as an important area in need of more detailed study.
