Presenter Credentials

Alecia N. Muwonge, College of Pharmacy, Third Year, PharmD Nedra Geddes-McCarthy, College of Pharmacy, Third Year, PharmD

Presenter Degree

Degree in Progress

Co-Author Credentials

Elizabeth Sherman, Pharm.D., AAHIVP; Associate Professor, Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy (esherman@nova.edu); Alexandra Perez, M.S., PharmD; Associate Professor, Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy (alperez@nova.edu)

College

College of Pharmacy

Campus Location

Ft. Lauderdale

Format

Poster

IRB Approval Verification

N/A

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to estimate the use of chronic medications for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and depression in adults over 18 years old. Background: Aging is associated with increased multimorbid conditions. Management of multimorbid conditions can be complex, making polypharmacy a prevalent problem in the adult population. Previous studies investigated the prevalence of chronic medication use in older adults, but none have evaluated the trends in use with increasing age. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used general population data from NHANES during the 2011-2018 cohort years for a population of all adults 18 years of age and older. The primary exposure variable was the use of either an antihypertensive, antilipidemic, antihyperglycemic or antidepressant at the time of the survey interview. Descriptive statistics for categorical variables were used to describe the use of chronic medications per age category. Univariate logistic regression models were developed to assess the association of ‘any' chronic medication use as the dependent variable and age range categories as the independent variable. Crude odds ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals were reported. We used an alpha level of 5%. Results: A total of 23,752 participants were included in our study. 9,037 (36.7%; 95% CI 35.4-38.0) reported taking ‘any’ chronic medications. 5,625 (20.3%) participants took an antihypertensive, 4,698 (18.3%) took an antilipidemic, 2,874 (9.3%) took an antihyperglycemic, and 2,520 (13.3%) took an antidepressant. Using the 18-24 age range as a reference, chronic medication use increased over time (p<0.0005). Persons in the 25-35 age range were 1.99 times as likely to use ‘any’ chronic medication (95% CI 1.512-2.416; p<0.05) while those 66 years of age and older were 45.5 times more likely (95% CI 34.32-60.32; p<0.05). Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that chronic medication use increases significantly with increased age categories. There is an observed increase in the use of chronic medications for metabolic disorders as the population ages, whereas medications for mental health disorders are more prevalent in younger adults. The findings of this study can be used to compare the use of chronic medications in other disease states and how this is influenced by chronological age.

Selection Criteria

1

COinS
 

Cross-sectional Evaluation of Chronic Medication Use Across Age Categories

Purpose: The objective of this study was to estimate the use of chronic medications for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and depression in adults over 18 years old. Background: Aging is associated with increased multimorbid conditions. Management of multimorbid conditions can be complex, making polypharmacy a prevalent problem in the adult population. Previous studies investigated the prevalence of chronic medication use in older adults, but none have evaluated the trends in use with increasing age. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used general population data from NHANES during the 2011-2018 cohort years for a population of all adults 18 years of age and older. The primary exposure variable was the use of either an antihypertensive, antilipidemic, antihyperglycemic or antidepressant at the time of the survey interview. Descriptive statistics for categorical variables were used to describe the use of chronic medications per age category. Univariate logistic regression models were developed to assess the association of ‘any' chronic medication use as the dependent variable and age range categories as the independent variable. Crude odds ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals were reported. We used an alpha level of 5%. Results: A total of 23,752 participants were included in our study. 9,037 (36.7%; 95% CI 35.4-38.0) reported taking ‘any’ chronic medications. 5,625 (20.3%) participants took an antihypertensive, 4,698 (18.3%) took an antilipidemic, 2,874 (9.3%) took an antihyperglycemic, and 2,520 (13.3%) took an antidepressant. Using the 18-24 age range as a reference, chronic medication use increased over time (p<0.0005). Persons in the 25-35 age range were 1.99 times as likely to use ‘any’ chronic medication (95% CI 1.512-2.416; p<0.05) while those 66 years of age and older were 45.5 times more likely (95% CI 34.32-60.32; p<0.05). Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that chronic medication use increases significantly with increased age categories. There is an observed increase in the use of chronic medications for metabolic disorders as the population ages, whereas medications for mental health disorders are more prevalent in younger adults. The findings of this study can be used to compare the use of chronic medications in other disease states and how this is influenced by chronological age.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.