Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes

Future Science OA

Mimoza Gjela¹  Rasmus D Bak¹  Pernille Jensen²  Parisa Gazerani²  Jacob Astorp² 

[1] Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark;;1Department of Health Science &

关键词: drug;    drug–drug interaction;    elderly;    multimorbidity;    nursing homes;    polypharmacy;   

DOI  :  10.2144/fsoa-2020-0039

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Aim: To identify patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes in the Northern region of Denmark. Materials & methods: Twenty-five nursing homes were contacted, where each supplied 20 randomly selected anonymized residents’ information. Residents were 65 years or older, concurrently taking five or more medications. Drug–drug interactions and potential adverse effects were investigated. Results: One hundred residents (68% females; 32% males) were included. The most prevalent co-morbid condition was cardiovascular disease, and the most prevalent medications were for gastrointestinal- and metabolism-related conditions. Age influenced the number of drugs (p = 0.013) and drug–drug interactions per resident (p = 0.039), with a positive correlation. Conclusion: Elderly residents of the studied nursing homes were potentially affected by an inappropriate polypharmacy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown