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Factors Associated with Multiple Medication Use in Different Age Groups

Moen, Janne ; Antonov, Karolina ; Larsson, Charlotte A LU ; Lindblad, Ulf ; Nilsson, J. Lars G. ; Råstam, Lennart LU and Ring, Lena (2009) In Annals of Pharmacotherapy 43(12). p.1978-1985
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Multiple medicine use among elderly persons is likely to be the result of treatment regimens developed over a long period of time. By learning more about how multiple medication use develops, the quality of prescribing may be improved across the adult lifespan. OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of multiple medicine use in the general Swedish population and its association with sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health status factors. METHODS: Data from a cross-sectional population health survey collected during 2001-2005 from 2816 randomly selected Swedish residents (age 30-75 y; response rate 76%) were analyzed. Multiple medicine use was restricted to prescription drugs and defined as the 75th percentile; that is, the 25% of the... (More)
BACKGROUND: Multiple medicine use among elderly persons is likely to be the result of treatment regimens developed over a long period of time. By learning more about how multiple medication use develops, the quality of prescribing may be improved across the adult lifespan. OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of multiple medicine use in the general Swedish population and its association with sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health status factors. METHODS: Data from a cross-sectional population health survey collected during 2001-2005 from 2816 randomly selected Swedish residents (age 30-75 y; response rate 76%) were analyzed. Multiple medicine use was restricted to prescription drugs and defined as the 75th percentile; that is, the 25% of the study group using the highest number of drugs per individual. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of the respondents used some kind of drug, 51.5% used one or more prescription drug, 38.4% used one or more over-the-counter (OTC) medication, and 8.3% used one or more herbal preparation. The cutoff amounts defining multiple medicine use were: 2 or more medications for 30- to 49-year-olds, 3 or more for 50- to 64-year-olds, and 5 or more for 65- to 75-year-olds. No association between use of multiple medicines and use of OTC drugs or herbal preparations was found. When drugs were classified into therapeutic subgroups, 76.3% of those aged 30-49 years, 97.9% of those aged 50-64 years, and 100% of those aged 65-75 years were taking a unique combination of drugs. Multivariate analyses showed that diabetes and poor self-rated health were associated with multiple medicine use in all age cohorts. Female sex and hypertension were associated with multiple medicine use among those aged 30-49 and 50-64 years, current smoking among those aged 50-64 years, and obesity among those aged 65-75 years. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple medicine use was associated with morbidity and poor self-rated health across all age groups. The vast majority of users of multiple drugs are taking a unique combination of medications. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
population survey, polypharmacy, multiple medicine use, health status factors, lifestyle factors, self-rated health, sociodemographic, factors
in
Annals of Pharmacotherapy
volume
43
issue
12
pages
1978 - 1985
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • wos:000272644700006
  • scopus:72249101018
  • pmid:19920158
ISSN
1060-0280
DOI
10.1345/aph.1M354
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b12dcb84-82b8-404b-b2cb-92f1231b3327 (old id 1532918)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:58:37
date last changed
2022-01-27 22:06:07
@article{b12dcb84-82b8-404b-b2cb-92f1231b3327,
  abstract     = {{BACKGROUND: Multiple medicine use among elderly persons is likely to be the result of treatment regimens developed over a long period of time. By learning more about how multiple medication use develops, the quality of prescribing may be improved across the adult lifespan. OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of multiple medicine use in the general Swedish population and its association with sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health status factors. METHODS: Data from a cross-sectional population health survey collected during 2001-2005 from 2816 randomly selected Swedish residents (age 30-75 y; response rate 76%) were analyzed. Multiple medicine use was restricted to prescription drugs and defined as the 75th percentile; that is, the 25% of the study group using the highest number of drugs per individual. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of the respondents used some kind of drug, 51.5% used one or more prescription drug, 38.4% used one or more over-the-counter (OTC) medication, and 8.3% used one or more herbal preparation. The cutoff amounts defining multiple medicine use were: 2 or more medications for 30- to 49-year-olds, 3 or more for 50- to 64-year-olds, and 5 or more for 65- to 75-year-olds. No association between use of multiple medicines and use of OTC drugs or herbal preparations was found. When drugs were classified into therapeutic subgroups, 76.3% of those aged 30-49 years, 97.9% of those aged 50-64 years, and 100% of those aged 65-75 years were taking a unique combination of drugs. Multivariate analyses showed that diabetes and poor self-rated health were associated with multiple medicine use in all age cohorts. Female sex and hypertension were associated with multiple medicine use among those aged 30-49 and 50-64 years, current smoking among those aged 50-64 years, and obesity among those aged 65-75 years. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple medicine use was associated with morbidity and poor self-rated health across all age groups. The vast majority of users of multiple drugs are taking a unique combination of medications.}},
  author       = {{Moen, Janne and Antonov, Karolina and Larsson, Charlotte A and Lindblad, Ulf and Nilsson, J. Lars G. and Råstam, Lennart and Ring, Lena}},
  issn         = {{1060-0280}},
  keywords     = {{population survey; polypharmacy; multiple medicine use; health status factors; lifestyle factors; self-rated health; sociodemographic; factors}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{1978--1985}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Annals of Pharmacotherapy}},
  title        = {{Factors Associated with Multiple Medication Use in Different Age Groups}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1345/aph.1M354}},
  doi          = {{10.1345/aph.1M354}},
  volume       = {{43}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}