Abstract
Background: Multimorbidity in older people leads to an increase in the number of used drugs and leads to more drug interactions. If irrational and unsafe drug consumption is added to this situation, the burden of the problems of the older adults and the society will increase. So, studying the pattern of drug consumption can provide the possibility of designing interventions to improve it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern of drug use among older adults living in Tabriz.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the data from a study entitled Tabriz Older People Health Survey (TOPS). The participants were selected from a representative sample of community-dwelling older people aged≥60 years who were living in Tabriz using the probability proportional to size sampling method. All the drugs used by the participants were checked, and their drug interactions and pattern of drug consumption were studied using the World Health Organization (WHO) prescribing guidelines.
Results: The results indicated that on average, 4.6 drugs are consumed per person, 4.8 for women and 4.2 for men. Furthermore, 46% of the participants took five drugs or more which is significantly higher in women (P value=0.007). The most commonly used drug was Losartan, and most of the drugs were classified in the cardiovascular group. Moreover, there were 1128 cases of drug interactions and 213 cases of therapeutic duplication whit in the drugs used by the participants.
Conclusion: Due to the increase in drug consumption in the older population, it is necessary to pay attention to the compatibility of the drug with the patient’s condition and plan for the training of health system employees regarding the proper prescription of medicine for older people.