ArticleFrontiers in medicine2026
Analysis of risk factors for polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy.
Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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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8 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Polypharmacy is a growing global concern, particularly among older adults with multimorbidity. Fragmented care and consultations across multiple medical institutions may further increase medication burden. This study aimed to identify risk factors for polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy in an outpatient population. Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study included 326 outpatients aged ≥ 65 years at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital. Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy were defined as the use of ≥5 and ≥10 medications, respectively. The association between age and number of medications was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation. Differences in the number of medical institutions consulted were assessed with the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Independent risk factors were identified using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean age was 74.0 ± 18.3 years. Age showed a significant positive correlation with the number of medications ( Conclusion: Aging and chronic disorders were substantially associated with polypharmacy. Although consultation with multiple medical institutions was statistically associated with increased medication burden, the observed effect size was modest, suggesting that fragmented care may contribute only incrementally to polypharmacy in this population. Integrated care strategies and medication review processes may nevertheless help reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and enhance patient safety.
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