Polypharmacy in the Elderly: A Multicenter Study

Gokce Kutsal, Yesim; Barak, Anil; Atalay, Ayce; Baydar, Terken; Kucukoglu, Selcuk; Tuncer, Tiraje; Hizmetli, Sami; Dursun, Nigar; Eyigor, Sibel; Sarıdogan, Merih; Bodur, Hatice; Canturk, Ferhan; Turhanoglu, Ayse; Arslan, Sule; Basaran, Aynur

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2009.03.018

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Volume 10, Issue 7 , Pages 486-490, September 2009

Polypharmacy in the Elderly: A Multicenter Study

Yesim Gokce Kutsal, MD
- Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara, Turkey
- Address correspondence to Yesim Gokce Kutsal, MD, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey.
Anil Barak, MSc
- Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Ankara, Turkey
Ayce Atalay, MD
- Maltepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İstanbul, Turkey
Terken Baydar, Assoc. PhD
- Hacettepe University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Toxicology, Ankara, Turkey
Selcuk Kucukoglu, MD
- Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bursa, Turkey
Tiraje Tuncer, MD
- Akdeniz University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Antalya, Turkey
Sami Hizmetli, MD
- Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sivas, Turkey
Nigar Dursun, MD
- Kocaeli University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kocaeli, Turkey
Sibel Eyigor, MD
- Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İzmir, Turkey
Merih Sarıdogan, MD
- Istanbul University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul, Turkey
Hatice Bodur, MD
- Numune Hospital, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara, Turkey
Ferhan Canturk, MD
- On Dokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Samsun, Turkey
Ayse Turhanoglu, MD
- Dicle University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Diyarbakır, Turkey
Sule Arslan, MD
- Gazi Osman Paşa University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tokat, Turkey
Aynur Basaran, MD
- Zonguldak University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Zonguldak, Turkey

published online 29 June 2009.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the polypharmacy issue and its correlations with socioeconomic variables in Turkish elderly patients.

Design

Cross-sectional

Setting

Outpatient clinics of the medical schools, departments of physical medicine and rehabilitation from 12 provinces.

Participants

A total of 1430 elderly in different geographical regions of Turkey during January 2007 to January 2008 were included.

Measurements

Patients were interviewed using a questionnaire that included demographic characteristics, current medical diagnosis, and pharmaceuticals that are used by elderly. Demographical parameters were gender, age, marital status, number of children, level of education, province, and status of retirement.

Results

The mean number of drugs was found to be higher in the females. There was a significant difference among age groups, marital status groups, and the number of children categories. The distribution of the number of drugs among education levels did not differ significantly, whereas the distribution of the number of drugs between the status of retirement and presence of chronic disease differed significantly.

Conclusions

Polypharmacy is correlated with various factors including age, sex, marital status, number of children, status of retirement, and presence of chronic medical conditions but not educational status in our study group.

Keywords: Drugs, elderly, polypharmacy, socioeconomic status