Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Ann Pharmacother. 2009 Dec;43(12):1978-85. doi: 10.1345/aph.1M354. Epub 2009 Nov 17.
Multiple medicine use among elderly persons is likely to be the result of treatment regimens developed over a long period of time. By learning more about how multiple medication use develops, the quality of prescribing may be improved across the adult lifespan.
To describe patterns of multiple medicine use in the general Swedish population and its association with sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health status factors.
Data from a cross-sectional population health survey collected during 2001-2005 from 2816 randomly selected Swedish residents (age 30-75 y; response rate 76%) were analyzed. Multiple medicine use was restricted to prescription drugs and defined as the 75th percentile; that is, the 25% of the study group using the highest number of drugs per individual.
Seventy-one percent of the respondents used some kind of drug, 51.5% used one or more prescription drug, 38.4% used one or more over-the-counter (OTC) medication, and 8.3% used one or more herbal preparation. The cutoff amounts defining multiple medicine use were: 2 or more medications for 30- to 49-year-olds, 3 or more for 50- to 64-year-olds, and 5 or more for 65- to 75-year-olds. No association between use of multiple medicines and use of OTC drugs or herbal preparations was found. When drugs were classified into therapeutic subgroups, 76.3% of those aged 30-49 years, 97.9% of those aged 50-64 years, and 100% of those aged 65-75 years were taking a unique combination of drugs. Multivariate analyses showed that diabetes and poor self-rated health were associated with multiple medicine use in all age cohorts. Female sex and hypertension were associated with multiple medicine use among those aged 30-49 and 50-64 years, current smoking among those aged 50-64 years, and obesity among those aged 65-75 years.
Multiple medicine use was associated with morbidity and poor self-rated health across all age groups. The vast majority of users of multiple drugs are taking a unique combination of medications.
老年人多种药物的使用可能是长期制定治疗方案的结果。通过更多地了解多种药物的使用方式，整个成年期的处方质量可能会得到改善。
描述瑞典一般人群中多种药物使用的模式及其与社会人口统计学、生活方式和健康状况因素的关系。
分析了 2001-2005 年从 2816 名随机选择的瑞典居民（年龄 30-75 岁；应答率 76%）中收集的一项横断面人群健康调查的数据。将多种药物使用限制在处方药范围内，并将其定义为第 75 百分位数；即，研究组中 25%的个体使用的药物数量最高。
71%的受访者使用某种药物，51.5%使用一种或多种处方药，38.4%使用一种或多种非处方药，8.3%使用一种或多种草药制剂。定义多种药物使用的截止量为：30-49 岁者使用 2 种或以上药物，50-64 岁者使用 3 种或以上药物，65-75 岁者使用 5 种或以上药物。未发现使用多种药物与使用非处方药或草药制剂之间存在关联。当药物被分类为治疗亚组时，76.3%的 30-49 岁年龄组、97.9%的 50-64 岁年龄组和 100%的 65-75 岁年龄组服用的是独特的药物组合。多变量分析显示，糖尿病和自我健康评估较差与所有年龄组的多种药物使用有关。女性和高血压与 30-49 岁和 50-64 岁年龄组的多种药物使用有关，50-64 岁年龄组的当前吸烟与肥胖有关，65-75 岁年龄组的肥胖与肥胖有关。
多种药物的使用与所有年龄组的发病率和自我健康评估较差有关。绝大多数使用多种药物的患者都在服用独特的药物组合。
