Open AccessAssociation of clinical epidemiological factors to polypharmacy among patients with multiple sclerosis: real-life data
Author(s) -
Vanessa Marcon de Oliveira,
Cínthia Caldas Rios,
Vanessa Terezinha Gubert de Matos,
Cristiane Munaretto Ferreira,
Erica Freire Vasconcelos-Pereira,
Mônica Cristina Toffoli-Kadri,
Maria Tereza Ferreira Duenhas Monreal
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
abcs health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2357-8114
pISSN - 2318-4965
DOI - 10.7322/abcshs.2020137.1899
Subject(s) - polypharmacy , medicine , epidemiology , medical prescription , disease , multiple sclerosis , comorbidity , pediatrics , physical therapy , psychiatry , pharmacology
Treatment for multiple sclerosis should focus on relapse prevention and treatment, as well as symptom and disease progression control, which require the use of multiple medications. Objective: To evaluate the association of polypharmacy and related clinical, epidemiological factors in multiple sclerosis patient cohorts. Methods: It was conducted a prospective study of multiple sclerosis patients that held a prescription of disease-modifying drugs between January and December 2017. The medications were analyzed and classified as either long-term or as-needed medications for therapeutic objective and prescription status purposes. Results: During 2017, 124 patients were attended, 106 were eligible for the study, and 81 agreed to participate. The average age was 40.95±11.69 years. The disease duration varied between 6 months and 30 years, with a median of 7 years. More than half of the multiple sclerosis patients suffered from comorbidities (54.32%), and 76.54% were categorized as polypharmacy. The comparison of polypharmacy between the groups yielded significant differences for comorbidities and employment status and regarding age between patients with polypharmacy and patients without polypharmacy of long-term medications. Conclusion: The age of the patient and the presence of comorbidities are important factors related to polypharmacy.