The prevalence and determinants of polypharmacy at age 69: a British birth cohort study

BMC Geriatrics
Mark James RawleDiana Kuh

Abstract

To describe the development of polypharmacy and its components in a British birth cohort in its seventh decade and to investigate socioeconomic and gender differences independent of disease burden. Data from the MRC National Survey for Health and Development were analysed to determine the prevalence and composition of polypharmacy at age 69 and changes since ages 60 to 64. Multinomial regression was used to test associations between gender, education and occupational social class and total, cardiological and non-cardiological polypharmacy controlling for disease burden. At age 69, 22.8% of individuals were taking more than 5 medications. There was an increase in the use of 5 to 8 medications (+ 2.3%) and over 9 medications (+ 0.8%) between ages 60-64 and 69. The greatest increases were found for cardiovascular (+ 13.4%) and gastrointestinal medications (+ 7.3%). Men experienced greater cardiological polypharmacy, women greater non-cardiological polypharmacy. Higher levels of education were associated with lower polypharmacy independent of disease burden, with strongest effects seen for over five cardiological medications (RRR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.5 p < 0.001 for advanced secondary qualifications compared with no qualification); th...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 8, 2019·Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology·José Joaquín Mira
May 28, 2020·The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences·Li-Ju ChenBen Schöttker
May 1, 2020·Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research·Fifonsi A Gbeasor-KomlanviDidier K Ekouevi
Dec 20, 2020·International Journal of Clinical Practice·Laura HellemansLorenz Van der Linden
Jan 15, 2021·Geriatrics & Gerontology International·Yoshiki IshibashiMasataka Sasabe

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