Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35814333›Full record

ReviewTherapeutic advances in drug safety2022

The patterns and implications of potentially suboptimal medicine regimens among older adults: a narrative review.

Georgie B Lee, Christopher Etherton-Beer, Sarah M Hosking, Julie A Pasco, Amy T Page

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Withdrawal of antihypertensive drugs in older people.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Global under- and overprescribing of drugs-a scoping review.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
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  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
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  11. Reducing prescribing cascades.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Mobile applications on app stores for deprescribing: A scoping review.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025
    Article
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  17. Review
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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

5 authors.

Georgie B LeeEpi-Centre for Healthy Ageing, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Deakin University, HERB-Building Level 3, C/- University Hospital Geelong, 285 Ryrie Street, P.O. Box 281, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4343-3020
Christopher Etherton-BeerWA Centre for Health and Ageing, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
Sarah M HoskingInstitute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
Julie A PascoInstitute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
Amy T PageWA Centre for Health and Ageing, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2084-8469

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the context of an ageing population, the burden of disease and medicine use is also expected to increase. As such, medicine safety and preventing avoidable medicine-related harm are major public health concerns, requiring further research. Potentially suboptimal medicine regimens is an umbrella term that captures a range of indicators that may increase the risk of medicine-related harm, including polypharmacy, underprescribing and high-risk prescribing, such as prescribing potentially inappropriate medicines. This narrative review aims to provide a background and broad overview of the patterns and implications of potentially suboptimal medicine regimens among older adults. Original research published between 1990 and 2021 was searched for in MEDLINE, using key search terms including polypharmacy, inappropriate prescribing, potentially inappropriate medication lists, medication errors, drug interactions and drug prescriptions, along with manual checking of reference lists. The review summarizes the prevalence, risk factors and clinical outcomes of polypharmacy, underprescribing and potentially inappropriate medicines. A synthesis of the evidence regarding the longitudinal patterns of polypharmacy is also provided. With an overview of the existing literature, we highlight a number of key gaps in the literature. Directions for future research may include a longitudinal investigation into the risk factors and outcomes of extended polypharmacy, research focusing on the patterns and implications of underprescribing and studies that evaluate the applicability of tools measuring potentially inappropriate medicines to study settings. Plain Language Summary:

Indexed as

inappropriate prescribingoutcomespolypharmacypotentially inappropriate medication listsrisk factorstrendunderprescribing

Identifiers

PMID35814333
PMCPMC9260603

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.