PREVALENCE OF POLYPHARMACY IN A GERIATRIC FRAIL POPULATION

Introduction: Since most chronic diseases are associated with older age, the elderly are the main target for an increase in prescribing medications. The relationship between medication-prescribed and functional status variability was studied in this research project. Objective: The objective of this research was to provide a description of drugs prescribed and functional status of patients older than 64 years. Design and setting: A descriptive, retrospective and cross sectional study was performed with the geriatric population of three primary care health providers in the northwest side of Rancagua, Chile. Sample was composed of 221 patients over 64 years old. Data collected from the Attendance Register Chart inside the Electronic Medical Record. IBM SPSS® Statistics 22, making use essentially of descriptive statistics and association between variables. Results: The evaluated patients received an average of 4 drugs during the last 3 months prior to the Annual Review of Preventive Medicine, with a percentage of 44% for those exposed to polypharmacy. According to functional status, 47.5% had a condition of frailty and the remaining 52.4%, of independence. There was a statistically significant association between polypharmacy and frailty. Conclusions: This study suggested that number of drugs prescribed could vary among the geriatric population according to their functional status, gender and age. The statistically significant association between polypharmacy and frailty could be interpreted as a product of a decline in biological functions, which are accompanied by pharmacotherapy or the effects of drugs that cause a decrease in the reserve capacity of an aged body over time.