ArticleEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2013
Geographical differences in the prevalence of chronic polypharmacy in older people: eleven years of the EPIFARM-Elderly Project.
Article in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and factors associated with polypharmacy: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic review of the efficacy of statins for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.Clinical medicine (London, England) · 2018Pooled it
- What is polypharmacy? A systematic review of definitions.BMC geriatrics · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Appropriateness of prescription of oral anticoagulant therapy in acutely hospitalized older people with atrial fibrillation. Secondary analysis of the SIM-AF cluster randomized clinical trial.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Trial
- Redeemed prescription medicines to measure quality of life of patients with long-term conditions: a national cross-sectional study.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Polypharmacy and Its Spatial Clustering in Japan: An Ecological Study of the Standardized Polypharmacy Ratio.Cureus · 2025Article
- Feasibility study of a clinical decision support system for polymedicated patients in primary care.Healthcare technology letters · 2023Review
- Multiple Medication Adherence and Related Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Older People on Chronic Polypharmacy: A Retrospective Cohort Study on Administrative Claims Data.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Prescription Appropriateness of Drugs for Peptic Ulcer and Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease: Baseline Assessment in the LAPTOP-PPI Cluster Randomized Trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Persistent polypharmacy and fall injury risk: the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.BMC geriatrics · 2021Article
- Antibiotic use and associated factors in adult outpatients from 2000 to 2019.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2021Article
- Prevalence and Age Structure of Polypharmacy in Poland: Results of the Analysis of the National Real-World Database of 38 Million Citizens.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- Prevalence of Chronic Polypharmacy in Community-Dwelling Elderly People in Poland: Analysis of National Real-World Database Helps to Identify High Risk Group.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- An overview of prevalence, determinants and health outcomes of polypharmacy.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2020Review
- Geographical Variation in Medication Prescriptions: A Multiregional Drug-Utilization Study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Article
- Polypharmacy and Multimorbidity Among Medicaid Enrollees: A Multistate Analysis.Population health management · 2018Article
- Quality of prescribing in community-dwelling elderly patients in France: an observational study in community pharmacies.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2017Observational
- Prevalence and Geographic Variations of Polypharmacy Among West Virginia Medicaid Beneficiaries.The Annals of pharmacotherapy · 2017Article
- Trend study on the association between hospital admissions and the health of Dutch older adults (1995-2009).BMJ open · 2016Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo compare the geographical differences in the prevalence of chronic polypharmacy in community-dwelling older people over 11 years.
methodsThis study analyzed nearly two million patients aged 65-94 years recorded in the Drug Administrative Database of the Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) from 2000 to 2010. Chronic polypharmacy was defined as taking five or more drugs in 1 month for at least 6 months (consecutive or not) in a year.
resultsThere was a significant spatial autocorrelation that increased at the municipality level from 2000 (Moran's I Index = 0.26, z score = 16.91, p < 0.0001) to 2010 (Moran's I Index = 0.36, z score = 23.78, p < 0.0001). Clusters of high (Z(G) > 1.96) and low (Z(G) < -1.96) prevalence rates of chronic polypharmacy were found and were not influenced by age. Chronic polypharmacy weakly correlated with hospital admission (2000: ρ = 0.08, p = 0.0032; 2005: ρ = 0.11, p < 0.0001; 2010: ρ = 0.18, p < 0.0001), but not with mortality.
conclusionsThere were geographical differences in the prevalence of older people with chronic polypharmacy that were only partly explained by health indicators. Targeted activities on prescription practice to ensure that the prescribing of chronic polypharmacy is appropriate are required.
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