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Polypharmacy of potentially addictive medication in the older persons--quantifying usage
C Ineke Neutel1, Svetlana Skurtveit, Christian Berg
1Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Polypharmacy is common among elderly Norwegians using restricted medications like opioids and benzodiazepines. A new Medication Usage Index (MUI) quantifies these drug use patterns effectively.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Pharmacology
- Public Health
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
Background:
- Increasing use of restricted medications (opioids, benzodiazepines, z-hypnotics) in older adults.
- Limited understanding of polypharmacy patterns and usage in this demographic.
- Need for quantitative measures to assess medication use in the elderly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe polypharmacy among elderly individuals using restricted medications.
- To develop and validate a Medication Usage Index (MUI) for quantifying medication use patterns.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Norwegian Prescription Database for individuals aged 70-89 in 2008.
- Included users of weak opioids, strong opioids, anxiolytic benzodiazepines, hypnotic benzodiazepines, and/or z-hypnotics.
- Developed MUI based on Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical codes, defined daily doses, subgroups, and prescriber counts.
Main Results:
- 42% of elderly Norwegians used at least one restricted medication in 2008.
- Higher MUI levels correlated with strong opioid use, female gender, older age, and cancer/palliative care status.
- Strong opioid users were most likely to use other restricted medications.
Conclusions:
- Polypharmacy is prevalent in elderly Norwegians using restricted medications.
- The MUI offers a practical method for summarizing drug usage.
- MUI can aid in identifying trends, regional variations, and intervention impacts.
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