ArticleHealth science reports2025
The Prevalence of Polypharmacy and the Contribution of Age, Period, and Cohort Effects in Sweden From 2006 to 2020.
Article in Health science reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trends in Multi-dose Drug Dispensing Amongst Older Adults in Sweden: A Nationwide Repeated Cross-Sectional Register Study, 2014-2023.Drugs & aging · 2026Article
- Physicians' gender and specialty in relation to adverse drug reaction reporting in Sweden.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Observational
- Menopause-associated gut microbiome remodeling and pharmacomicrobiomics: emerging mechanisms influencing drug response.Frontiers in microbiomes · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the age, period, and cohort effects of polypharmacy in older adults using Swedish register data covering the period 2006 to 2020. Design: Repeated cross-sectional study using routinely-collected health care data. Setting: Nationwide, Sweden. Participants: A 10% random sample was drawn each year from the source population of all adults aged ≥ 65 in Sweden, 2006-2020 (cumulative Measurement: Polypharmacy was defined as the use of ≥ 5 medicines. Drug data were extracted from the National Prescribed Drug Register (NPDR) Medication use was assessed on 1st January (1-day point prevalence) each year based on the drug duration episodes. Age-Period-Cohort analysis was conducted to explore these effects. Results: Overall, 32.8% of older adults was exposed to polypharmacy in 2020 compared to 28.6% in 2006. This increase was more pronounced among individuals aged 85 to 89, from while the prevalence remained relatively steady among those aged 65 to 84. In the formal Age-Period-Cohort analysis, the cohort differences were weak for polypharmacy, but more prevalent for specific medication classes. Conclusion: Polypharmacy is mainly influenced by age and period effects, but not by cohort. The rise in polypharmacy is primarily propelled by an increased pace in medication use among individuals aged 75 to 89 years. These findings can provide valuable insights for making effective strategies aimed at reducing polypharmacy.
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