Potentially inappropriate medications for the elderly: incidence and impact on mortality in a cohort ten-year follow-up
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2020
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Introduction
Pharmacological therapy plays an important role in disease control in the elderly; unfortu nately, this comes with a high prevalence in the use of medications classified as potentially
inappropriate.
Objective
To analyze the incidence, risk factors, and survival of elderly people using potentially inap propriate medications (PIM).
Method
A ten-year follow-up assessment of elderly participants residing in a capital of Central Brazil
was conducted. The initial assessment (baseline) included 418 elderly people. Data were
collected through home interviews guided by a questionnaire covering socioeconomic,
demographic, living conditions, and health variables. The medication information obtained
comprised active ingredient, dosage, route, and regimen for the medications. The PIMs
were classified according to 2019 Beers Criteria. The analyses were performed using
STATA 15.0. For survival analysis, a Cox Regression was performed with the respective
Kaplan Meier curve.
Results
The incidence of PIM was 44.1 cases (95% CI: 35.2–54.7) per 1,000 people a year. The
most used PIMs were nifedipine, glibenclamide, and sodium diclofenac. The risk factors
were polypharmacy (aRR: 3.00; 95% CI: 1.31–6.88) and diabetes mellitus (aRR: 1.57; 95%
CI: 1.03–2.39). We identified no statistically significant association between survival and the
use of PIM.
Conclusion
The study highlights the high consumption of PIM among the elderly causing polypharmacy
risks. Health professionals working in drug treatment need to be alert to polypharmacy risks
to ensure the rational use of medications to prevent adverse reactions and other health
problems.
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ARAÚJO, Natacha Christina de et al. Potentially inappropriate medications for the elderly: incidence and impact on mortality in a cohort ten-year follow-up. Plos One, San Francisco, v. 15, n. 10, e0240104, 2020. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240104. Disponível em: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7592782/. Acesso em: 2 abr. 2025.