Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes

Aim: To identify patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes in the Northern region of Denmark. Materials & methods: Twenty-five nursing homes were contacted, where each supplied 20 randomly selected anonymized residents’ information. Residents we...

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Main Authors: Jacob Astorp, Mimoza Gjela, Pernille Jensen, Rasmus D Bak, Parisa Gazerani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-09-01
Series:Future Science OA
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Online Access:https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/fsoa-2020-0039
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author Jacob Astorp
Mimoza Gjela
Pernille Jensen
Rasmus D Bak
Parisa Gazerani
author_facet Jacob Astorp
Mimoza Gjela
Pernille Jensen
Rasmus D Bak
Parisa Gazerani
author_sort Jacob Astorp
collection DOAJ
description Aim: To identify patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes in the Northern region of Denmark. Materials & methods: Twenty-five nursing homes were contacted, where each supplied 20 randomly selected anonymized residents’ information. Residents were 65 years or older, concurrently taking five or more medications. Drug–drug interactions and potential adverse effects were investigated. Results: One hundred residents (68% females; 32% males) were included. The most prevalent co-morbid condition was cardiovascular disease, and the most prevalent medications were for gastrointestinal- and metabolism-related conditions. Age influenced the number of drugs (p = 0.013) and drug–drug interactions per resident (p = 0.039), with a positive correlation. Conclusion: Elderly residents of the studied nursing homes were potentially affected by an inappropriate polypharmacy.
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spelling doaj-art-cfeae3d9ff0d45019e3fd4c63ce9ce1d2025-08-20T02:25:50ZengTaylor & Francis GroupFuture Science OA2056-56232020-09-016810.2144/fsoa-2020-0039Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homesJacob Astorp0Mimoza Gjela1Pernille Jensen2Rasmus D Bak3Parisa Gazerani41Department of Health Science & Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark1Department of Health Science & Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark1Department of Health Science & Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark1Department of Health Science & Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, Denmark1Department of Health Science & Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg E, DenmarkAim: To identify patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes in the Northern region of Denmark. Materials & methods: Twenty-five nursing homes were contacted, where each supplied 20 randomly selected anonymized residents’ information. Residents were 65 years or older, concurrently taking five or more medications. Drug–drug interactions and potential adverse effects were investigated. Results: One hundred residents (68% females; 32% males) were included. The most prevalent co-morbid condition was cardiovascular disease, and the most prevalent medications were for gastrointestinal- and metabolism-related conditions. Age influenced the number of drugs (p = 0.013) and drug–drug interactions per resident (p = 0.039), with a positive correlation. Conclusion: Elderly residents of the studied nursing homes were potentially affected by an inappropriate polypharmacy.https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/fsoa-2020-0039drugdrug–drug interactionelderlymultimorbiditynursing homespolypharmacy
spellingShingle Jacob Astorp
Mimoza Gjela
Pernille Jensen
Rasmus D Bak
Parisa Gazerani
Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes
Future Science OA
drug
drug–drug interaction
elderly
multimorbidity
nursing homes
polypharmacy
title Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes
title_full Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes
title_fullStr Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes
title_full_unstemmed Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes
title_short Patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in Danish nursing homes
title_sort patterns and characteristics of polypharmacy among elderly residents in danish nursing homes
topic drug
drug–drug interaction
elderly
multimorbidity
nursing homes
polypharmacy
url https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/fsoa-2020-0039
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