Polypharmacy Is Associated With Higher Frailty Risk in Older People: An 8-Year Longitudinal Cohort Study.
Nicola Veronese, Brendon Stubbs, Marianna Noale and 8 others
PMID 28396180WHAT IT FOUND
In older adults at risk of knee osteoarthritis, more prescription medicines were linked with higher frailty risk over 8 years.
Each extra medicine was linked with an 11% higher risk. This only shows a link, not proof medicines caused frailty.
Key findings
01Among 4402 participants included, 361 (8.2%) developed frailty during 8-year follow-up.
02Compared with 0-3 medications, 4-6 medications were associated with a 55% higher adjusted frailty risk, and 7 or more medications were associated with about a 150% higher adjusted frailty risk.
03Each additional medication at baseline was associated with an 11% higher frailty risk.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study did not test whether reducing medicines lowers frailty risk. Weight change data were missing at baseline, so baseline frailty was defined differently from follow-up frailty. Only the number of medications was analysed, not all medication types, so some medicines may have different effects. Participants were selected because they were at high risk of knee osteoarthritis, so results may not apply to all older adults.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing medicines prevents frailty. This was an observational cohort, so it only links higher medication counts to later frailty. It did not test deprescribing.