Drug Evaluation and Safety in Older Adults Core

The Drug Evaluation and Safety in Older Adults Core focuses on a myriad of applications of real-world data and pharmacoepidemiological methods as they relate to pharmacotherapy in older adults, the aging process, geriatrics, and gerontology. CoDES faculty are engaged in collaborative research with the UF Institute on Aging, the Oak Hammock Retirement Community, and other clinical specialties at UF and internationally. The range of topics includes, among others, deprescribing, prescribing cascades, adverse drug events, frailty, physical activity, and opioid research in older adults as well as age-related conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. The Core is strengthened by several large data resources including national and Florida Medicare data linked to clinical trial and survey datasets. Several key research projects and publications are highlighted below. For more information contact Core Lead, Dr. Joshua Brown.


Current or recently completed projects:

“Pharmacological Management of Pain in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias”

  • Principal investigator: Yu-Jung “Jenny” Wei, PhD
  • Funded by: NIH National Institute on Aging (1K01AG054764)

“Preventing and Eliminating the Calcium Channel Blocker – Lower Extremity Edema – Loop Diuretic Prescribing Cascade in Older Adults”

  • Principal investigator: Scott Vouri, PharmD, PhD
  • Funded by: NIH National Institute on Aging (P30AG028740)

“LIFE’s Legacy: Secondary data linkage to evaluate the long-term effects of the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence For Elders (LIFE) trial.”

  • Principal investigator: Joshua Brown, PharmD, PhD
  • Funded by: NIH National Institute on Aging (P30AG028740)

Recent publications:

  • Wei YJ, Solberg L, Chen C, Fillingim R, Pahor M, DeKosky S, Winterstein A. Pain Assessments in MDS 3.0—Agreement with Vital Sign Pain Records of Nursing Home Residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2019. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16122. 
  • Chen C, Winterstein AG, Fillingim B, Wei YJ. Body weight, Frailty and Chronic pain among US Older Adults: a Cross-sectional Study. BMC Geriatrics. 2019; May 24;19(1):143.
  • Cheng Y, Goodin AJ, Pahor M, Manini T, Brown JD. Healthcare utilization and physical functioning in older adults in the United States. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2020 Feb;68(2):266-271. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16260. Epub 2019 Nov 22.
  • Brown JD, Wang CY, Pahor M, Manini T. Three-year post-intervention follow-up comparison of healthcare resource utilization and costs in the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study. Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. 2020 (In press). https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaa088.
  • Usmani SA, Reckenberg KA, Johnson O, Stranges PM, Teshome BF, Kebodeaux CD, Vouri SM. Relative risk of adverse events and treatment discontinuations between older and non-older adults treated with antimuscarinics for overactive bladder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Drugs Aging. 2019;36(7):639-645.
  • Vouri SM, Jiang X, Manini TM, et al. Magnitude of and Characteristics Associated With the Treatment of Calcium Channel Blocker–Induced Lower-Extremity Edema With Loop Diuretics. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(12):e1918425. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.18425