Table 1.
Patient characteristics by polypharmacy status
| Characteristic | ≤8 medications (n=110) |
≥9 medications (n=104) |
p Value |
| Age in years, mean±SD | 86±9 | 84±10 | p=0.72 |
| Male, n (%) | 33 (30) | 34 (32) | p=0.67 |
| Length of stay in nursing home in days, median (IQR) |
861 (276–1905) | 741 (274–1721) | p=0.50 |
| Frailty score (CHSA-CFS),* median (IQR) |
n=93 7 (7,7) |
n=86 7 (7,7) |
p=0.73 |
| Dementia, n (%) | 78 (71) | 59 (57) | p=0.03 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 72 (66) | 81 (78) | p=0.04 |
| Congestive heart failure, n (%) | 10 (9) | 25 (24) | p=0.003 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 24 (22) | 33 (33) | p=0.07 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean±SD | 126±18 | 127±18 | p=0.54 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean±SD | 66±12 | 66±10 | p=0.94 |
| HbA1c,† % median (IQR) |
n=28 6.2 (5.9, 7.0) |
n=46 6.2 (5.6,6.7) |
p=0.43 |
| Do not hospitalise designation (stay at facility for all care, even in case of acute illness), n (%) | 35 (32) | 27 (26) | p=0.35 |
*Calculation of Canada Health Study of Aging-Clinical Frailty Scale (CHSA-CFS)11 was done October–November 2014, data are missing for 35 participants due to their deaths and subsequent loss of chart access. A higher score=increasing frailty; ≥7 is severely frail.
†Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) measured on 74 patients, but only 57 have a diagnosis of diabetes.