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Multiple medication use among seniors
1Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa.
Objectives:
This article examines the prevalence of medication use among Canadian seniors. Indicators of patient-physician and patient-pharmacist communication were also investigated.
Data Source:
Health Canada-sponsored supplementary questions to the 1994/95 National Population Health Survey (NPHS) were used in this analysis.
Analytical Techniques:
All estimates were weighted to represent the Canadian population on the data of the survey. Summary rates by sex were age-standardized to the estimated survey population for both sexes. Respondents who reported taking five or more drugs in the two days before their NPHS interview were considered to be multiple-medication users.
Main Results:
In 1994/95, 10% of Canadians aged 65 to 74, and 13% of those aged 75 and older were multiple-medication users. For certain drug-related information, there was a decline with advancing age in the percent of the population who reported that they received this information from their physician and from their pharmacist.