ArticleBMC geriatrics2024
Trends in commonly used and potentially inappropriate medications in older Korean patients with polypharmacy.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Potentially inappropriate medications in older outpatients with depression: a cross-sectional study comparing the Beers criteria and the Chinese criteria.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- 10-year trends in benzodiazepine, opioid, and concurrent use in hip and knee arthroplasty: a nationwide cohort study from the Netherlands.Acta orthopaedica · 2025Article
- Impact of Chinese criteria on potentially inappropriate medication use in China.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Review
- Inappropriate medication use and associated factors in geriatric patients with hypertension and diabetes.Journal of family & community medicineArticle
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPolypharmacy is a global public health concern. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of polypharmacy and trends in the use of commonly used and potentially inappropriate medications among older Korean patients.
methodsIndividuals aged ≥ 65 years who were prescribed any medication between 2014 and 2018 were selected from the Korean National Health Information Database. Joinpoint regression analyses were used to determine trends in the age-adjusted polypharmacy rates by age group. The prescription rates of the most commonly used medications and the most commonly used potentially inappropriate medications were analysed by year or age group for patients with polypharmacy using the chi-square and proportion difference tests.
resultsThis study included 1,849,968 patients, 661,206 (35.7%) of whom had polypharmacy. Age-adjusted polypharmacy rates increased significantly between 2014 and 2018 (P = 0.046). Among patients with polypharmacy, the most commonly prescribed medications were aspirin (100 mg), atorvastatin, metformin, glimepiride, and rosuvastatin. The most commonly prescribed and potentially inappropriate medications were alprazolam, diazepam, amitriptyline, zolpidem, and dimenhydrinate. There was a significant decrease in the prescription rates for each of these drugs in 2018 compared with 2014 among patients with polypharmacy (all P < 0.001), whereas there was a significant increase in alprazolam prescription among patients aged ≥ 85 years when analysed by age group (P < 0.001).
conclusionsThis study revealed an increasing prevalence of polypharmacy among older adults. Additionally, it highlighted that the utilisation of commonly prescribed potentially inappropriate medications, such as benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants, has remained persistent, particularly among patients aged ≥ 85 years who practiced polypharmacy. These findings provide evidence-based guidance for the development of robust polypharmacy management strategies to ensure medication safety among older adults.
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