Reduced quality of life in veterans at risk for drug-related problems

The relationships between drug therapy and health-related quality of life i n 1054 patients who received care from Department of Veterans Affairs medic al centers (VAMCs) were assessed. Patients at high risk for drug-related pr oblems were enrolled into a pharmaceutical care study at nine VAMCs. On enr ollment, the short form (SF)-36 was completed and medical records were exam ined for evidence of coexisting illness. Drug therapy in the year before en rollment was analyzed in relation to SF-36 scores. Mean SD SF-36 scores ran ged from 37.99 +/- 41.70 for role physical to 70.78 +/- 18.97 for mental he alth domains, with all domain scores significantly below age-adjusted natio nal norms (p <0.05). Patients taking a drug that required therapeutic monit oring had significantly lower SF-36 scores (p=0.0001 to p=0.0033) across al l domains except for bodily pain and mental health, compared with patients not taking these agents.