Naslov
Polypharmacy among the elderly in the Republic of Srpska: extent and implications for the future.

Autori
Marković-Peković, Vanda ; Škrbić, Ranko ; Petrović, Aleksandar ; Vlahović-Palčevski, Vera ; Mrak, Jana ; Bennie, Marion ; Fadare, Joseph ; Kwonjk, Hye-Young ; Schiffersl, K ; Truterm, Ilse ; Godman, Brian

Izvornik
Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research (1473-7167) 16 (2015), 5; 609-618

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
prescribing ; elderly ; polypharmacy

Sažetak
The prescribing of medicines is a fundamental component of care for the elderly ; however, there is increasing concern with polypharmacy and its impact on morbidity, mortality and costs. As a result, long-term prescription- medicine use and the prevalence of polypharmacy in the elderly in the Republic of Srpska were analyzed. The findings were subsequently used to suggest potential future measures. A retrospective study of all elderly patients during 2005-2010 stratified by age group (three groups), sex and long- term medicine use was performed. Polypharmacy (five or more medicines) increased from 1.4% of the elderly taking medicines long-term to 3.6% by 2010, with 53.6% of elderly taking two or more medicines long- term. The most prevalent diseases were cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Most prescriptions were in accordance with recent guidelines ; however, there was a concern with appreciable prescribing of digoxin and aminophylline. Whilst polypharmacy rates are low in the Republic, the increasing rate is a concern. Further studies are planned.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Javno zdravstvo i zdravstvena zaštita

POVEZANOST RADA