ArticlePloS one2014
Prevalence and predictors of polypharmacy among Korean elderly.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 181 citations in OpenAlex.
- Applying the Bradford Hill Criteria to Assess the Independent Causal Roles of Aging and Medication in Frailty Progression: A Systematic Review.Drugs & aging · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and factors associated with polypharmacy: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate Medications Use in Elderly Chinese Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- What is polypharmacy? A systematic review of definitions.BMC geriatrics · 2017Pooled it
- Comparing In-Person Versus Self-Paced Polypharmacy Education in Older Adults: A Pragmatic Comparison of Delivery Format Effectiveness.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Trial
- Development and validation of the Korean version of the medication regimen complexity index.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Associations of Polypharmacy, Diuretics and Antipsychotics with Injurious Falls: A Population-Based Cohort Study.Drugs & aging · 2026Article
- Prevalence of polypharmacy: a cross-sectional study in Singapore public healthcare institutions.Singapore medical journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Sociodemographic determinants and comorbidities associated with polypharmacy among the adult population in Korea: a nationwide claim analysis.Korean journal of family medicine · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular morbidity following epilepsy: A nationwide retrospective cohort study in South Korea.Epilepsia open · 2026Article
- Multi-Institutional Drug Use Patterns in Hospitalized Older Patients: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2026Article
- Polypharmacy, determinants, and adverse outcomes in elderly patients with heart failure: a multicenter retrospective cohort study of 7,361 subjects.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Impact of a CMO-Based Pharmaceutical Care Model on 3-HIT Criteria in Older People Living with HIV: The DIS3HIT Project.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Medication use patterns and polypharmacy among elderly in Iran: a cross-sectional study using national health insurance claims data.BMJ open · 2025Observational
- Determinants of polypharmacy among ambulatory cardiovascular disease patients in Iluababora and Buno Bedele Zones, Ethiopia: prospective observational study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Observational
- Community-level social capital and polypharmacy among public assistance recipients in Japan: A multilevel cross-sectional study.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Impact of Modifiable Factors Associated with Physical Frailty and Cognitive Impairment Trajectory of Older Adults: Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging 2006-2018.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Association of Korean Medicine and polypharmacy with fall risk and mortality in older adults with stroke.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Evaluation of the prevalence and influencing factors on poly-pharmacy among elderly patients - A review.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Review
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePolypharmacy is widespread in the elderly because of their multiple chronic health problems. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors associated with polypharmacy in a nationally representative sample of Korean elderly individuals.
methodsWe used the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service - National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS) data from 2010 and 2011. We used information on 319,185 elderly patients (aged 65 years or older) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 from the HIRA-NPS database. We defined 'polypharmacy' as the concurrent use of 6 medications or more per person, 'major polypharmacy' as 11 medications or more, and 'excessive polypharmacy' as 21 medications or more. The frequency and proportion (%) and their 95% confidence intervals were presented according to the polypharmacy definition. Polypharmacy was visualized by the Quantum Geographic Information Systems (QGIS) program to describe regional differences in patterns of drug use. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression was performed to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) to investigate the risk factors for polypharmacy.
resultsOf the Korean elderly studied, 86.4% had polypharmacy, 44.9% had major polypharmacy and 3.0% had excessive polypharmacy. Polypharmacy was found to be primarily concentrated in the Southwest region of the country. Significant associations between polypharmacy and the lower-income Medical Aid population (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.47, 1.56) compared with National Health Insurance patients was observed.
conclusionsNationwide efforts are needed for managing polypharmacy among Korean elderly patients. In particular, a national campaign and education to promote appropriate use of medicines for the Medical Aid population is needed.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.