Is depression a predictive factor for polypharmacy in elderly?

Abstract

Objective: Polypharmacy, quite common in elderly patients, is an important issue, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to examine polypharmacy rates and drug usage characteristics in elderly patients. Second aim of this study was to compare our results with other published studies.Methods: In a retrospective design, we reviewed hospital records of 1,205 patients (>=65 years) who presented to our geriatric clinic, which serves as a tertiary center at the University of Istanbul, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, who were examined in detail in terms of polypharmacy between 2003 and 2012, and who had follow-up care for at least a year. Demographic characteristics, polypharmacy, drugs used at presentation and final evaluation, and comorbid conditions were recorded. The definition of >= 5 drugs usage for polypharmacy and >= 9 drugs usage for excessive polypharmacy were considered in this study. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was performed for independent predictive factors.Results: Of patients, 854 were females (70%). The average age was 75.2±6.9. The number of comorbidities was 2.46±1.30. The number of drugs used at first admission and final evaluation was 3.8±2.7 and 4.3±2.8 (p