Table 1.
Characteristics of patients according to the number of drugs in the medication list at two cut-offs (≥5 and ≥10 drugs)
| ≥5 Drugs n = 149 |
<5 Drugs n = 51 |
P value | ≥10 Drugs n = 49 |
<10 Drugs n = 151 |
P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | mean ± SD | 84.6 ± 6.5 | 84.2 ± 8.4 | 84.9 ± 6.5 | 84.4 ± 7.2 | ||
| median (range) | 85 (65–98) | 84 (65–97) | 0.68 | 85 (65–96) | 85 (65–98) | 0.68 | |
| Female sex | 95 (64) | 38 (75) | 0.16 | 33 (67) | 100 (66) | 0.89 | |
| Multi-dose drug dispensing | 87 (58) | 13 (25) | <0.001 | 34 (69) | 66 (44) | 0.002 | |
| Impaired cognition | 72 (48) | 18 (35) | 0.11 | 27 (55) | 63 (42) | 0.10 | |
| Residing in nursing home | 47 (32) | 13 (25) | 0.42 | 19 (39) | 41 (27) | 0.12 | |
| Number of drugs | 8.8 ± 3.0 | 2.4 ± 1.4 | NA | 12.2 ± 2.5 | 5.5 ± 2.6 | NA | |
Values are presented as mean ± SD or number of patients (percentage) if not stated otherwise
NA not applicable, SD standard deviation