Characteristics of drugs with oral frailty patients among community pharmacy visitors: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

With the rise in the older population, it has become important to understand the relationship between oral frailty and drug use to consider appropriate medical interventions and drug use for older persons.

OBJECTIVE

To clarify the relationship among oral frailty, drug use, and other patient backgrounds and to identify relevant factors using information from patient questionnaires and pharmacy medication history records.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved community-dwelling older adults. Older adults aged ≥ 65 years who visited 44 pharmacies in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, with their prescriptions between July 1 and September 10, 2021, and who were able to complete the questionnaire independently were eligible for the study. An oral Frailty Index-8 score ≥ 4 was used to define the oral frailty group, while a score of 0-3 was used to define the non-oral frailty group. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify relevant factors for oral frailty, with oral frailty as the dependent variable and items from the questionnaire and drug survey as independent variables.

RESULTS

A total of 1,386 eligible participants were included in this study, and 761 (54.9%) had oral frailty. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that frailty, number of natural teeth (fewer than 20), and benzodiazepine use were significantly associated with oral frailty (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.037, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results will provide evidence for community pharmacists to provide appropriate patient education, recommend consultations with dental care providers, and assist in community healthcare coordination.