Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34284765›Full record

ArticleBMC medical informatics and decision making2021

Exploring polypharmacy with artificial intelligence: data analysis protocol.

Caroline Sirois, Richard Khoury, Audrey Durand, Pierre-Luc Deziel, Olga Bukhtiyarova, Yohann Chiu, Denis Talbot, Alexandre Bureau, Philippe Després, Christian Gagné and 6 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical informatics and decision making, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Reimagining Resilience in Aging: Leveraging AI/ML, Big Data Analytics, and Systems Innovation.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Caroline SiroisFaculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada. caroline.sirois@pha.ulaval.ca.ORCID 0000-0003-3294-7883
Richard KhouryFaculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Audrey DurandFaculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Pierre-Luc DezielFaculty of Law, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Olga BukhtiyarovaFaculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Yohann ChiuFaculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Denis TalbotFaculty of Medicine, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Alexandre BureauFaculty of Medicine, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Philippe DesprésFaculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Physics, Physical Engineering and Optics, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Christian GagnéFaculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
François LavioletteFaculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Anne-Marie SavardFaculty of Law, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Jacques CorbeilFaculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Thierry BadardFaculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics, Department of Geomatic Science, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Sonia JeanQuebec National Institute of Public Health, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Marc SimardQuebec National Institute of Public Health, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Université Laval · CAInstitut National de Santé Publique du Québec · CAInstitut National de la Recherche Scientifique · CA

Funding

Canadian Institute of Health Research CPG—170621
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPolypharmacy is common among older adults and it represents a public health concern, due to the negative health impacts potentially associated with the use of several medications. However, the large number of medication combinations and sequences of use makes it complicated for traditional statistical methods to predict which therapy is genuinely associated with health outcomes. The project aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the quality of polypharmacy among older adults with chronic diseases in the province of Québec, Canada.

methodsWe will use data from the Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System (QICDSS). QICDSS contains information about prescribed medications in older adults in Quebec collected over 20 years. It also includes diagnostic codes and procedures, and sociodemographic data linked through a unique identification number for each individual. Our research will be structured around three interconnected research axes: AI, Health, and Law&Ethics. The AI research axis will develop algorithms for finding frequent patterns of medication use that correlate with health events, considering data locality and temporality (explainable AI or XAI). The Health research axis will translate these patterns into polypharmacy indicators relevant to public health surveillance and clinicians. The Law&Ethics axis will assess the social acceptability of the algorithms developed using AI tools and the indicators developed by the Heath axis and will ensure that the developed indicators neither discriminate against any population group nor increase the disparities already present in the use of medications. DISCUSSION: The multi-disciplinary research team consists of specialists in AI, health data, statistics, pharmacy, public health, law, and ethics, which will allow investigation of polypharmacy from different points of view and will contribute to a deeper understanding of the clinical, social, and ethical issues surrounding polypharmacy and its surveillance, as well as the use of AI for health record data. The project results will be disseminated to the scientific community, healthcare professionals, and public health decision-makers in peer-reviewed publications, scientific meetings, and reports. The diffusion of the results will ensure the confidentiality of individual data.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligencePolypharmacyAgedChronic DiseaseData AnalysisHumansQuebecArtificial intelligenceEthicsIndicatorsMedicationsPolypharmacySocial acceptability

Identifiers

PMID34284765
PMCPMC8290537
OpenAlexW3186120342

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.