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A Method of Trigonometric Modelling of Seasonal Variation Demonstrated with Multiple Sclerosis Relapse Data
Published on: December 9, 2015
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Polypharmacy and multiple sclerosis: A population-based study.
Anibal Chertcoff1, Huah Shin Ng2, Feng Zhu1
1Faculty of Medicine (Neurology), University of British Columbia and The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, UBC Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
|October 27, 2022
Summary
More than a quarter of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience polypharmacy, defined as using five or more medications concurrently. Factors increasing polypharmacy risk include being female, older age, and having more comorbidities or lower socioeconomic status (SES).
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Neurology
- Public Health
Background:
- Polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications, is not well understood in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Investigating polypharmacy in MS is crucial for understanding medication management and patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of polypharmacy in a population-based cohort of individuals with MS.
- To compare the characteristics of individuals with and without polypharmacy within the MS cohort.
Main Methods:
- Utilized administrative and pharmacy data from a Canadian MS population.
- Defined polypharmacy as using five or more concurrent medications for over 30 consecutive days.
- Analyzed medication classes contributing to polypharmacy and hyper-polypharmacy (10+ medications).
Main Results:
- 28% of 14,227 individuals with MS met polypharmacy criteria, with a median of 273 polypharmacy days.
- Higher odds of polypharmacy were associated with female sex, older age, increased comorbidities, and lower socioeconomic status (SES).
- Antidepressants, antiepileptics, and peptic ulcer drugs were the most common medication classes involved in polypharmacy.
Conclusions:
- Polypharmacy affects over a quarter of individuals with MS.
- Risk factors for polypharmacy in MS include female sex, advanced age, comorbidities, and lower SES.
- Understanding these patterns is vital for optimizing medication management in the MS population.
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