ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Geographic Variation in Top-10 Prescribed Medicines and Potentially Inappropriate Medication in Portugal: An Ecological Study of 2.2 Million Older Adults.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Economic implications of the different statin prescribing patterns in Central Portugal: a longitudinal analysis.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Patterns of outpatient proton‒pump inhibitors use among older adults in a duplicative health system: comparing public and private prescribing.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- A genome-wide Association study of the Count of Codeine prescriptions.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Multiple medication intake by older adults is considered a serious public health concern since it is associated with increased risk of adverse drug reactions and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM). This study described the top-10 prescribed active substances considering geographical distribution and PIM prescription in older adults. A cross-sectional ecological study using data on the active substances prescribed to people aged 65 years or older during 2020 was conducted. Information on active substances and the respective defined daily doses (DDD) stratified by age group, sex and region were collected from a Portuguese health administrative database. The average number of prescribed packages and DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day of top-10 active substances were assessed. This study included a total of 2,228,090 older adults (58% females). The furosemide and atorvastatin were the active substances with higher prescription rates (mean DDD/1000 inhabitants/day) in all ARS in both males and females, in comparison with the other top-10 active substances. Our results showed geographic differences in prescription, illustrated by more prescriptions in ARS North and Centre and fewer prescriptions in ARS Algarve. In females, two out of the 10 most prescribed active substances were PIM (benzodiazepines and opioids). Geographic disparities in PIM prescription across Portuguese regions were also observed. This study shows that drugs for the cardiovascular system were the active substances most prescribed to older adults. The prescription of benzodiazepines and opioids, classified as PIM, among females, alerts officials to the need of health policies to decrease inappropriate medication. The observed geographic differences in the 10 most prescribed active substances and in PIM prescription emphasized the importance of investing in medication optimization across the Portuguese regions.
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Registered trials
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