Polypharmacy prevalence and associated factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A single-centre, cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to clarify factors associated with polypharmacy among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

METHODS

This single-centre cross-sectional study was conducted by reviewing the medical records and questionnaire data of 261 systemic lupus erythematosus patients at a teaching hospital in Japan from 1 September to 30 November 2020. Polypharmacy was defined as the regular administration of five or more oral medications; excessive polypharmacy consisted of the regular use of 10 or more oral medications. This study investigated (1) the prevalence of polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy, (2) the distribution of medication types, and (3) the factors associated with polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy.

RESULTS

The proportions of patients who exhibited polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy were 70% and 19%, respectively. Polypharmacy was associated with older age, long duration of systemic lupus erythematosus, high disease activity, and administration of glucocorticoids or immunosuppressive agents. Excessive polypharmacy was associated with a higher updated Charlson comorbidity index, history of visits to multiple internal medicine clinics, and presence of public assistance.

CONCLUSIONS

Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are related to medical aspects such as disease severity and comorbidities in addition to social aspects such as hospital visitation patterns and economic status.