Research
Adherence
Exercise serves as a therapeutic agent and preventative medicine that can substitute for or reduce the need for potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) such as antidepressants, anxiolytics, and insomniacs in older adults, thereby reducing adverse drug events like falls and cognitive impairment.
If you are taking medications for depression, anxiety, or insomnia, talk to your doctor about whether exercise could help reduce your dose. Exercise is a proven treatment that can improve your mood and sleep without the side effects of these medications, such as increased risk of falls or confusion.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
There are diseases for which exercise is an alternative to pharmacological treatment (such as depression), thus contributing to the goal of deprescribing of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs)... these potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) may be associated with adverse drug events (ADEs) such as falls, hip fractures, delirium, and worsening of cognitive impairment, which is far less desirable than the use of evidence-based exercise prescriptions to treat these conditions
Why this rating
Supported by consensus guidelines and references to adverse drug events.
Source
International Exercise Recommendations in Older Adults (ICFSR): Expert Consensus Guidelines
Míkel Izquierdo et al. · The journal of nutrition health & aging · 2021
DOI 10.1007/s12603-021-1665-8
clinical_guidelineCited 1,145×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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Related findings · Adherence
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