Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 13:1:100078.
doi: 10.1016/j.dialog.2022.100078. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Polypharmacy among older adults in Brazil: Association with sociodemographic factors and access to health services

Karina Alves Ramos  1 , Alexandra Crispim Boing  2 , Juliana Mara Andrade  1 , Fabíola Bof de Andrade  1
Affiliations

Polypharmacy among older adults in Brazil: Association with sociodemographic factors and access to health services

Karina Alves Ramos et al. Dialogues Health. .

Abstract

Background: Polypharmacy is common among older adults and is of public health concern, since pharmacological therapy influences the quality of care for older individuals. Few studies have addressed its prevalence and correlates in low or middle-income countries. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of polypharmacy in a representative sample of the Brazilian older population and its association with sociodemographic conditions and factors related to access to health services.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from the last National Health Survey, conducted in 2019. The dependent variable was polypharmacy (five or more medications) and independent variables were: sociodemographic characteristics, general health conditions and access to health services indicator.

Results: The prevalence of polypharmacy was 19.2%. Polypharmacy was higher among those aged 80 years and over compared to those aged 60-69 years (prevalence ratio (PR) 1.47; 95% CI: 1.30; 1.66); individuals with complete elementary education (PR 1.35; 95% CI: 1.13; 1.60) versus those who did not go to school; with 3+ chronic diseases (PR 11.14; 95% CI: 7.94; 15.63); those with limitations in basic activities of daily life (PR 1.49; 95% CI: 1.35; 1.63) and possession of private medical health insurance (PR 1.32; 95% CI 1.19; 1.46). Being in a marital relationship was inversely associated with polypharmacy (PR 0.88; 95% CI: 0.80; 0.96).

Conclusion: Polypharmacy affects a significant proportion of the Brazilian older population and is associated with sociodemographic factors and access to health services.

Keywords: Community-dwelling older adults; Geriatrics; Medications; Polypharmacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. World Health Organization - WHO . 2019. Medication Safety in Polypharmacy; pp. 1–63.http://apps.who.int/bookorders Geneva. Accessed: Feb. 28, 2022. [Online]. Available:
    1. Donaldson L.J., Kelley E.T., Dhingra-Kumar N., Kieny M.P., Sheikh A. Medication without harm: WHO’s third global patient safety challenge. Lancet. Apr. 2017;389(10080):1680–1681. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31047-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Masnoon N., Shakib S., Kalisch-Ellett L., Caughey G.E. What is polypharmacy? A systematic review of definitions. BMC Geriatr. Oct. 2017;17(1) doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0621-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vos R., Boesten J., van den Akker M. Fifteen-year trajectories of multimorbidity and polypharmacy in Dutch primary care—A longitudinal analysis of age and sex patterns. PLoS One. Feb. 2022;17(2 February) doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264343. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pallesen A.V.J., Kristiansen M., Westendorp R.G.J., Mortensen L.H. Polypharmacy occurrence and the related risk of premature death among older adults in Denmark: A nationwide register-based cohort study. PLoS One. Feb. 2022;17(2 February) doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264332. - DOI - PMC - PubMed