MD-MPH Department, School of Medicine, Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Hamilton Glaucoma Center, Shiley Eye Institute, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Diego, California, United States.
Arch Iran Med. 2023 Mar 1;26(3):156-165. doi: 10.34172/aim.2023.24.
Although polypharmacy is considered a major predictor of irrational use of drugs, little is known about polypharmacy in developing regions. We aimed to indicate the prevalence and correlates of polypharmacy and to determine the medication profile at the population level in southern Iran.
In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from participants of the Pars Cohort Study (PCS) (aged above 40 years, N=9269). Polypharmacy was defined as using five or more medications concurrently. A Poisson multivariable model was applied to estimate the adjusted prevalence ratios (APRs) of various risk factors. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system was used for classifying medications.
Prevalence of polypharmacy was 10.4%, (95% CI: 9.75; 11.08) and it was higher among females (15.0%), older adults (age≥65 years) (16.0%), and individuals with more than two chronic conditions (31%). Being female, educated, married, and not having a low socio-economic class were independently associated with a higher likelihood of polypharmacy. The most prevalent medications among female participants were sex hormones and modulators of the genital system (58.4%), drugs for acid-related disorders (14.6%), and anti-anemic preparations (13.6%,). On the other hand, males were using acid-related disorders (14.6%), anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic products (7.8%), and beta-blocking agents (6.3%).
The prevalence of polypharmacy in our sample was relatively low, especially among males. Cardiovascular drugs, acid suppressants, hormonal contraceptives, and anti-anemic preparations are drug classes with the highest contribution to polypharmacy.
尽管多种药物治疗被认为是不合理用药的主要预测因素，但在发展中地区，关于多种药物治疗的信息知之甚少。我们旨在表明伊朗南部地区人群中多种药物治疗的流行率和相关因素，并确定药物治疗概况。
在这项横断面研究中，我们分析了 Pars 队列研究（PCS）（年龄在 40 岁以上，N=9269）参与者的数据。同时使用五种或更多种药物定义为多种药物治疗。应用泊松多变量模型来估计各种危险因素的调整后患病率比（APR）。使用解剖治疗化学（ATC）分类系统对药物进行分类。
多种药物治疗的流行率为 10.4%（95%CI：9.75；11.08），女性（15.0%）、老年（≥65 岁）（16.0%）和患有两种以上慢性病的个体（31%）中更高。女性、受过教育、已婚和不属于低社会经济阶层与多种药物治疗的可能性增加独立相关。女性参与者中最常见的药物是性激素和生殖系统调节剂（58.4%）、酸相关疾病药物（14.6%）和抗贫血制剂（13.6%）。另一方面，男性使用的是酸相关疾病药物（14.6%）、抗炎和抗风湿产品（7.8%）和β受体阻滞剂（6.3%）。
我们样本中的多种药物治疗的流行率相对较低，尤其是在男性中。心血管药物、酸抑制剂、激素避孕药和抗贫血制剂是导致多种药物治疗的主要药物类别。
