From: Factors associated with excessive polypharmacy in older people
Characteristic | Total mean: 3.5 | 0–4 medicines (N = 1769) mean: 1.7 | 5-8 medicines (N = 811) mean: 6.1 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 95 % CI | % | 95 % CI | % | 95 % CI | % | 95 % CI | |
N = 2835 | 100.0 | 67.0 | 64.4–69.7 | 24.8 | 22.4–27.1 | 8.2 | 6.3–10.1 | |
Demographics (N = 2835) | ||||||||
Gender | ||||||||
Males | 41.2 | 39.1–43.3 | 43.5 | 40.7–46.3 | 37.6 | 32.9–42.3 | 33.4 | 19.3–47.5 |
Females | 58.8 | 56.7–60.9 | 56.5 | 53.7–59.3 | 62.4 | 57.7–67.0 | 66.6 | 52.5–80.7 |
Age | ||||||||
65–69 | 23.2 | 20.5–25.9 | 26.8 | 23.3–30.2 | 17.2 | 13.0–21.4 | 12.2 | 5.5–18.9 |
70–74 | 27.2 | 24.1–30.3 | 27.9 | 24.3–31.5 | 24.8 | 19.5–30.0 | 28.7 | 13.4–44.0 |
75–79 | 19.4 | 17.1–21.7 | 19.4 | 16.5–22.3 | 20.0 | 16.1–24.0 | 17.1 | 10.1–24.1 |
> = 80 | 30.2 | 27.7–32.8 | 25.9 | 23.0–28.9 | 38.0 | 33.1–42.8 | 42.0 | 31.1–52.9 |
Socioeconomic status | ||||||||
Education (N = 2689) | ||||||||
No degree/Primary | 30.4 | 27.3–33.4 | 27.6 | 24.1–31.1 | 35.0 | 29.9–40.0 | 38.9 | 27.4–50.4 |
Lower secondary | 24.4 | 21.0–27.7 | 22.4 | 18.8–26.0 | 26.3 | 21.1–31.4 | 34.9 | 20.1–49.8 |
Higher secondary | 27.0 | 23.8–30.2 | 29.2 | 25.3–33.1 | 23.9 | 19.1–28.8 | 18.4 | 10.3–26.5 |
Higher education | 18.2 | 15.6–20.9 | 20.8 | 17.5–24.0 | 14.8 | 10.6–19.0 | 7.8 | 3.2–12.3 |
Equivalent household income (N = 2271) | ||||||||
Quintile 1 | 20.5 | 17.2–23.8 | 19.6 | 16.2–23.0 | 17.6 | 13.6–21.6 | 37.1 | 20.7–53.6 |
Quintile 2 | 32.8 | 29.2–36.4 | 32.5 | 28.2–36.9 | 34.0 | 28.4–29.6 | 31.0 | 19.8–42.3 |
Quintile 3 | 25.4 | 21.9–28.8 | 24.2 | 20.1–28.3 | 30.2 | 24.5–35.8 | 20.3 | 11.1–29.5 |
Quintile 4 | 11.2 | 9.1–13.4 | 11.7 | 9.0–14.4 | 10.6 | 7.2–14.0 | 9.0 | 3.7–14.4 |
Quintile 5 | 10.1 | 7.9–12.2 | 11.9 | 9.2–14.7 | 7.6 | 4.2–11.0 | 2.5 | 0.2–4.8 |
Living situation (N = 2820) | ||||||||
Living alone or with other person(s) in home setting | 94.4 | 93.4–95.4 | 95.9 | 94.8–96.9 | 92.3 | 90.3–94.4 | 88.6 | 84.0–93.2 |
Living in a residential home for the elderly | 5.6 | 4.6–6.6 | 4.1 | 3.1–5.2 | 7.6 | 5.6–9.7 | 11.4 | 6.8–16.0 |
Region (N = 2835) | ||||||||
Flemish Region | 61.2 | 58.9–63.4 | 66.2 | 63.4–68.9 | 50.8 | 45.8–55.8 | 51.8 | 39.8–63.9 |
Brussels Region | 8.8 | 8.1–9.5 | 8.5 | 7.6–9.5 | 9.7 | 8.0–11.4 | 7.8 | 4.6–10.9 |
Walloon Region | 30.1 | 28.0–32.1 | 25.3 | 22.7–27.9 | 39.5 | 34.7–44.3 | 40.4 | 29.6–51.1 |
Health status | ||||||||
Longstanding illness, chronic conditions or handicaps (N = 2819) | ||||||||
Yes | 54.0 | 51.0–56.9 | 42.3 | 38.7–45.9 | 73.4 | 69.0–77.9 | 90.2 | 85.0–95.4 |
No | 46.0 | 43.1–49.0 | 57.7 | 54.1–61.3 | 26.6 | 22.1–31.0 | 9.8 | 4.6–15.0 |
Depression during the past 12 months (N = 2794) | ||||||||
Yes | 6.8 | 4.9–8.6 | 4.2 | 2.8–5.5 | 8.0 | 5.6–10.4 | 24.4 | 8.9–39.9 |
No | 93.2 | 91.4–95.1 | 95.8 | 94.4–97.2 | 92.0 | 89.6–94.4 | 75.6 | 60.1–91.1 |
Contact with health services | ||||||||
Contact with GP in past 2 months (N = 2811) | ||||||||
Yes | 73.8 | 71.1–76.4 | 65.4 | 61.8–69.0 | 89.4 | 86.4–92.5 | 94.1 | 89.9–98.3 |
No | 26.2 | 23.6–28.9 | 34.6 | 31.0–38.2 | 10.6 | 7.4–13.6 | 5.9 | 1.7–10.1 |
Contact with specialist in past 2 months (N = 2817) | ||||||||
Yes | 27.8 | 25.3–30.3 | 24.8 | 21.6–27.9 | 33.3 | 28.2–38.4 | 36.3 | 25.6–47.0 |
No | 72.2 | 69.7–74.7 | 75.2 | 72.1–78.3 | 66.7 | 61.6–71.8 | 63.7 | 53.0–74.4 |
Inpatient hospitalization in past 12 months (N = 2813) | ||||||||
Yes | 18.2 | 16.0–20.4 | 14.0 | 11.5–16.5 | 23.5 | 19.4–27.6 | 36.1 | 25.1–47.1 |
No | 81.8 | 79.6–84.0 | 86.0 | 83.5–88.5 | 76.5 | 72.4–90.6 | 63.9 | 52.9–74.9 |
1 day patient hospitalization in past 12 months (N = 2807) | ||||||||
Yes | 11.0 | 9.1–12.9 | 10.2 | 7.9–12.6 | 13.4 | 9.5–17.4 | 10.3 | 5.0–15.5 |
No | 89.0 | 87.1–90.9 | 89.8 | 87.4–92.1 | 86.6 | 82.6–90.5 | 89.7 | 84.5–95.0 |