Association of Drug Application and Hydration Status in Elderly Patients

Due to multifactorial reasons, such as decreased thirst and decreased total body water, elderly patients are vulnerable to dehydration. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia increase the risk of dehydration and, in turn, dehydration decreases cognitive performance. The study aims to identify and assess differences in hydration status, taking into account patients’ drug treatment and diseases, using bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), thereby revealing unfavorable aspects of prognosis. 447 geriatric patients (241 women, 206 men) including information on medication and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) were investigated, which allowed studying the association between 40 drugs and the hydration status. First, patients were divided into disease groups. Renal disease and diuretic treatment were significantly different in both sexes, whereas cardiovascular patients differed exclusively for females. Next, drug enrichment was examined in either hyperhydrated or dehydrated patients. Simvastatin, candesartan, bisoprolol, amlodipine, olmesartan, furosemide, torasemide, allopurinol, mirtazapine, pantoprazole, cholecalciferol, and resveratrol showed enrichment depending on hydration status. This study demonstrated that patients can be differentiated and stratified by BIVA, taking into account medication and disease associated with hydration status. Although patients diagnosed with MCI and therefore treated with resveratrol, BIVA still showed evaluated dehydration. This is unfavorable in terms of prognosis and requires special attention.