[Longitudinality in Primary Care and Polypharmacy. A Systematic Review]

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmacology
• General Practice

Background:

• Polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications, is a growing concern in primary care.
• Associated problems include duplicate prescriptions, drug interactions, and adverse events.
• Continuity in primary care (longitudinality) is hypothesized to mitigate these issues.

Approach:

• A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines.
• Searches were performed on PubMed and Scopus databases.
• 12 relevant studies were selected and analyzed for the relationship between longitudinality and polypharmacy outcomes.

Key Points:

• All 12 selected studies demonstrated a significant relationship between longitudinality indicators and polypharmacy.
• The association was often strong, with relative risks greater than 2 or less than 0.5.
• Continuity in primary care was linked to reduced rates of polypharmacy and associated problems.

Conclusions:

• Existing evidence supports a strong link between continuity in primary care and the control of polypharmacy.
• Further prospective studies are recommended to directly assess longitudinality's impact.
• Protecting and promoting primary care continuity is crucial for managing medication-related problems.