Trial reportJournal of general internal medicine2019
Associations Between Polypharmacy, Symptom Burden, and Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced, Life-Limiting Illness.
Trial report in Journal of general internal medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It reports registered trial NCT01415934. Cited by 66 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial of Continuing vs. Discontinuing Statins
Open the trial in the graphWho cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Critical View over the Newest Antidiabetic Molecules in Light of Efficacy-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Deprescribing in palliative patients with cancer: a concise review of tools and guidelines.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Pooled it
- The Association Between Anticholinergic Burden and Treatment-Related Complications in Older Adults with Cancer.Drugs & aging · 2026Article
- Redeemed prescription medicines to measure quality of life of patients with long-term conditions: a national cross-sectional study.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Responsiveness and minimum important change of the Pharmacotherapeutic Symptom Evaluation-20-Australian version: a tool for measuring changes in medicine-related symptoms over time.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Cost-effectiveness of a pictorial medication sheet for older adults with heart failure and cognitive impairment.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Caregiver burden in children with medical complexity: an approach based on the identification of associated factors.Revista paulista de pediatria : orgao oficial da Sociedade de Pediatria de Sao Paulo · 2026Article
- Medication burden, adherence and health-related quality of life in COPD in China: a multilevel health system study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- The patient reported transformation of identity and voice in life-limiting illness.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Article
- Experiences of medication burden among patients with multimorbidity in rural China: a qualitative study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Real-world patterns of cardiovascular medication use in the final 28 days of life among patients with advanced cancer: a retrospective analysis by hospice care type.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- EVALUATION OF SCREENING TOOL OF OLDER PEOPLE'S PRESCRIPTIONS (STOPP) CRITERIA IN AN URBAN COHORT OF OLDER PEOPLE WITH HIV.Pharmacoepidemiology · 2025Article
- Pharmacist-led deprescribing interventions for cancer patients in a specialist palliative care setting.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Unpacking excessive polypharmacy patterns among individuals living with chronic pain in Quebec: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The association between medication use and health-related quality of life in multimorbid older patients with polypharmacy.European geriatric medicine · 2024Article
- Prescribing patterns in older people with advanced chronic kidney disease towards the end of life.Clinical kidney journal · 2024Article
- High Symptom Burden in Patients With Advanced Chronic or Prolonged Infectious Diseases: Not Only Pain.Cureus · 2024Article
- Factors influencing deprescribing in primary care for those towards the end of life: A qualitative interview study with patients and healthcare practitioners.Palliative medicine · 2024Article
- TheContemporary clinical trials communications · 2024Article
- Measuring Quality of Life in Deprescribing Trials: A Scoping Review.Drugs & aging · 2024Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPolypharmacy may be particularly burdensome near the end of life, as patients "accumulate" medications to treat and prevent multiple diseases.
objectiveTo evaluate associations between polypharmacy, symptom burden, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced, life-limiting illness (clinician-estimated, 1 month-1 year).
designSecondary analysis of baseline data from a trial of statin discontinuation.
participantsAdults with advanced, life-limiting illness. MAIN MEASURES: Polypharmacy was assessed by summing the number of non-statin medications taken regularly or as needed. Symptom burden was assessed using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (range 0-90; higher scores indicating greater symptom burden) and QOL was assessed using the McGill QOL Questionnaire (range 0-10; higher scores indicating better QOL). Linear regression models assessed associations between polypharmacy, symptom burden, and QOL. KEY
resultsAmong 372 participants, 47% were age 75 or older and 35% were enrolled in hospice. The mean symptom score was 27.0 (standard deviation (SD) 16.1) and the mean QOL score was 7.0 (SD 1.3). The average number of non-statin medications was 11.6 (SD 5.0); one-third of participants took ≥ 14 medications. In adjusted models, higher polypharmacy was associated with higher symptom burden (coefficient 0.81; p < .001) and lower QOL (coefficient - .06; p = .001). Adjusting for symptom burden weakened the association between polypharmacy and QOL (coefficient - .03; p = .045) without a significant interaction, suggesting that worse quality of life associated with polypharmacy may be related to medication-associated symptoms.
conclusionsAmong adults with advanced illness, taking more medications is associated with higher symptom burden and lower QOL. Attention to medication-related symptoms and shared decision-making regarding deprescribing are warranted in this setting. NIH TRIAL REGISTRY NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier for Parent Study - NCT01415934.
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Registered trials
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.