Prevalence and determinants of potentially inappropriate medications prescribing in elderly patients in Chinese communities

BACKGROUNDTo assess the prevalence and associated risk of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prescribing in community-dwelling elderly patients in China and to examine the most frequently used PIMs. This will provide a reference for the formulation of medication manuals for the community-dwelling elderly and further standardize the use of medications in elderly patients.METHODSWe conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study from April 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Data from elderly patients aged ≥65 years were collected from the Hengjie (N=2,294), Loujiang (N=3,972), and Tongxing communities (N=1,969) in Suzhou. The frequency of PIMs was detected using the 2019 Beers criteria and the 2017 Chinese criteria. Chi-square (for categorical variables), ANOVA (for continuous variables as applicable), and logistic regression were used to describe and identify potential predictors of PIMs.RESULTSA total of 8,235 elderly patients were examined. Using the Chinese criteria, the prevalence of PIMs was 37.07%, which was slightly higher than that found using the 2019 Beers criteria (32.16%). The most prescribed PIMs were estazolam (21.53%) and insulin (4.60%) based on the Chinese criteria. Logistic regression analysis showed that advanced age, polypharmacy, and comorbid disease of patients were associated with a high risk of PIMs. Furthermore, the educational background and professional title of physicians were also associated with PIMs.CONCLUSIONSGiven the high prevalence of PIMs in the Chinese community-dwelling elderly population, the implementation of evidence-based interventions to promote rational clinical drug use could improve their quality of life.