Polypharmacy among disabled Taiwanese elderly: a longitudinal observational study.
It is not known whether the correlates of polypharmacy among disabled elderly are similar to those for older adults in general. Furthermore, data on polypharmacy in the Taiwanese population are limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and correlates of polypharmacy am...
| Published in: | Drugs & Aging Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 345 - 355 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2009
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=105359722&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 105359722 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 1170229X C5B jtl: Drugs & Aging issn: 1170229X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2009 vid: 26 iid: 4 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 105359722 105359722 2010317751 10.2165/00002512-200926040-00005 NLM19476401 105359722 ppf: 345 ppct: 10 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Polypharmacy among disabled Taiwanese elderly: a longitudinal observational study. aug: au: Chan D Hao Y Wu S affil: Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan sug: subj: Persons with Disabilities Statistics and Numerical Data Polypharmacy Practice Patterns Age Factors Aged Aged, 80 and Over Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Chi Square Test Female Funding Source Male Multiple Logistic Regression Prevalence Questionnaires Residence Characteristics Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire Taiwan Human Aged: 65+ years Aged, 80 & over Female Male ab: It is not known whether the correlates of polypharmacy among disabled elderly are similar to those for older adults in general. Furthermore, data on polypharmacy in the Taiwanese population are limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and correlates of polypharmacy among disabled Taiwanese elderly (aged >/=65 years). This was a longitudinal observational study conducted on information obtained between July 2001 and June 2002. Study participants consisted of nationally representative samples of 11 788 disabled Taiwanese elderly from the ANLTCNT (Assessment of National Long-Term Care Need in Taiwan) study. Polypharmacy and major polypharmacy were defined as prescription of >/=5 and >/=10 medications, respectively, on the day of maximum numbers of prescriptions of the study year. Subject characteristics were derived from the ANLTCNT study survey data. Healthcare-related characteristics, including medication prescriptions, were obtained from the National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data. Multivariate logistic regression was performed for statistical analysis. One-fifth (21.5%) of the sample were aged >/=85 years, and 58% were female. The prevalence of polypharmacy and major polypharmacy among disabled Taiwanese elderly was 81% and 38%, respectively. Nearly one-third (32.5%) of disabled Taiwanese elderly were exposed to polypharmacy for >/=181 days in 1 year. Compared with those with a low tendency for visiting multiple providers, those with intermediate tendency (odds ratio [OR] 3.61; 95% CI 3.11, 4.18) and those with high tendency (OR 10.24; 95% CI 8.56, 12.24) were more likely to be exposed to polypharmacy. Other significant correlates of polypharmacy in the multivariate logistic regression model included age <85 years, living in urban areas, higher number of chronic conditions, poorer physical functioning, preference for visiting independent clinics and not being institutionalized. The prevalence of polypharmacy was extremely high among disabled Taiwanese elderly. Visiting multiple healthcare providers was one of the strongest correlates. Policies that encourage the disabled elderly to establish primary care relationships and that promote geriatric care models may decrease the prevalence of polypharmacy and associated adverse outcomes in this group. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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