Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics and determinants of polypharmacy among elderly patients in Bahrain. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March and April 2022 in all primary healthcare centres in Bahrain. A simple random sample was obtained. An elderly patient was defined as one aged ≥60 years and polypharmacy was defined as the concomitant use of 5 or more medications, with excessive polypharmacy defined as the concomitant use of 10 or more medications. Results: A total of 977 patients were included, with more than half of them being females (n = 533, 54.55%) and the mean age of the participants at 67.90 ± 6.87 years. Essential hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities among the participants (61.51%, 57.63% and 53.22%, respectively). Among the cohort, 443 (45.34%) were on 5 or more medications and of those 66 (6.76%) were on at least 10 medications. A multivariate analysis revealed that patients with diabetes (odds ratio [OR] = 5.836, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.061–8.385; P P P P P Conclusion: Polypharmacy is prevalent among elderly patients in Bahrain, particularly among those with non-communicable diseases. Polypharmacy should be considered while delivering healthcare services to the elderly, especially those with non-communicable diseases.
Keywords: Aged; Elderly; Polypharmacy; Bahrain.
Publication Date
2-28-2024
First Page
63
Last Page
69
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Alawainati, Mahmood; Habib, Fatima; Ateya, Eman; Dakheel, Eman; and Al-Buainain, Muneera
(2024)
"Prevalence, Characteristics and Determinants of Polypharmacy Among Elderly Patients Attending Primary Healthcare Centres in Bahrain,"
Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal: Vol. 24: 63-69.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18295/squmj.9.2023.052
