2019-02-042019-02-042013SANTOS, Thalyta Renata Araújo et al. Consumo de medicamentos por idosos, Goiânia, Brasil. Revista de Saúde Pública, São Paulo, v. 47, n. 1, p. 94-103, 2013.e- 0034-8910http://repositorio.bc.ufg.br/handle/ri/16941OBJECTIVE: To analyze the pattern of use of medications use in aged people and associate it with socioeconomic aspects and with the self-rated health. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional design study with 934 elderly people from Goiania, Midwestern Brazil, between December 2009 and April 2010. Data were collected through a questionnaire. The dependent variable was the number of medications consumed and the independent variables were sex, marital status, education, type of residence, age, income, and self-rated health. Drugs were classifi ed according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classifi cation. The inappropriate drugs for the elderly were identifi ed according to the Beers-Fick criteria. The tests used were Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test, p was considered signifi cant when < 0.05. RESULTS: The elderly consumed 2,846 medicines (3.63 medications/person). The most commonly consumed were those which act in the cardiovascular system (38.6%). The prevalence of polypharmacy was 26.4% and selfmedication was 35.7%. The most used drugs for self-medication were analgesics (30.8%), 24.6% of the elderly consumed drug considered inappropriate. Women, widows, those aged 80 or over and with worse self-rated health were more likely to practiced more polypharmacy. Most self-medication was associated with lower levels of education and worse self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of drug use by the elderly was similar to that found in the elderly in other regions of Brazil. The number of drugs used, the prevalence of self-medication and practice of polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use were within the national average.porAcesso AbertoIdosoUso de medicamentosQuimioterapia combinadaMedicamentos de uso contínuoAutomedicaçãoAuto-avaliação diagnósticaEstudos transversaisAgedDrug utilizationDrug therapy combinationDrugs of continuous useSelf medicationDiagnostic self evaluationCross-sectional studiesArtigo10.1590/S0034-89102013000100013