Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics and Mortality, According to the Number of Concurrent Drugs, ELSA 2012–2018
| Variablesa | None % (n = 1 844) |
1–4 Drugs % (n = 3 088) |
5–9 Drugsb % (n = 1 214) |
10+ Drugsb % (n = 149) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y), mean (SD) | 62.9 (7.9) | 67.8 (8.8) | 71.9 (8.7) | 71.8 (8.5) |
| Gender | ||||
| Men | 47.1 (869) | 42.3 (1 305) | 45.3 (550) | 41.6 (62) |
| Women | 52.9 (975) | 57.7 (1 783) | 54.7 (664) | 58.4 (87) |
| Total wealth | ||||
| 1 (lowest) | 15.1 (279) | 18.1 (559) | 28.2 (343) | 33.6 (50) |
| 2 | 16.1 (296) | 20.2 (625) | 23.2 (281) | 21.5 (32) |
| 3 | 19.9 (367) | 20.4 (630) | 19.4 (236) | 22.1 (33) |
| 4 | 23.3 (429) | 20.2 (624) | 18.2 (221) | 12.1 (18) |
| 5 (highest) | 25.6 (473) | 21.1 (650) | 11.0 (133) | 10.7 (16) |
| Live with a partner | 75.2 (1 387) | 71.3 (2 201) | 63.3 (768) | 56.4 (84) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1.7 (32) | 9.8 (302) | 33.2 (403) | 49.0 (73) |
| CHD | 0.6 (11) | 5.1 (156) | 26.8 (325) | 48.3 (72) |
| Stroke | 0.3 (6) | 3.3 (102) | 11.9 (144) | 14.8 (22) |
| Lung disease (including asthma) | 3.7 (69) | 16.5 (510) | 28.4 (345) | 53.0 (79) |
| Parkinson’s disease | 0.0 (0) | 0.8 (25) | 1.7 (21) | 1.3 (2) |
| Alzheimer’s disease and dementia | 0.2 (3) | 0.5 (16) | 1.9 (23) | 2.7 (4) |
| Number of conditionsc median (IQR) | 1.0 (1.0) | 2.0 (2.0) | 3.0 (2.0) | 4.0 (2.0) |
| Functional impairmentd | 7.3 (135) | 17.0 (524) | 38.1 (463) | 58.4 (87) |
| Mobility difficultye | 30.6 (564) | 50.9 (1 571) | 944 (77.8) | 94.0 (140) |
| Obesity | ||||
| High BMI and waist circumference | 20.0 (368) | 28.2 (872) | 41.9 (509) | 53.0 (79) |
| Either high BMI or waist circumference | 18.8 (346) | 26.1 (806) | 26.2 (318) | 24.8 (37) |
| Current smoker | 11.9 (219) | 8.7 (269) | 12.3 (149) | 18.1 (27) |
| Sleep duration | ||||
| 7–9 h | 63.8 (1 177) | 60.6 (1 873) | 55.3 (671) | 45.6 (68) |
| <7 or 9+ h | 36.2 (667) | 39.4 (1 215) | 44.7 (543) | 54.4 (81) |
| Low physical activity | 8.8 (162) | 17.3 (534) | 35.8 (434) | 63.1 (94) |
| Cognitive function, mean (SD) | 11.9 (3.2) | 11.0 (3.4) | 9.8 (3.5) | 8.7 (3.7) |
| Depressive symptoms: 4+ | 6.8 (126) | 10.0 (309) | 17.1 (207) | 33.6 (50) |
| Mortalityf | ||||
| All-cause death | 3.1 (57) | 6.6 (205) | 16.1 (196) | 27.5 (41) |
| Cause-specific deaths | ||||
| CVD | 0.7 (13) | 1.7 (51) | 6.7 (81) | 10.7 (16) |
| Cancer | 1.4 (26) | 2.4 (74) | 4.0 (48) | 8.1 (12) |
| Respiratory disease | 0.4 (7) | 0.8 (26) | 2.4 (29) | 5.4 (8) |
| Other cause | 0.6 (11) | 1.8 (54) | 3.1 (38) | 3.4 (5) |
Notes: BMI = body mass index; CHD = coronary heart disease; CVD = cardiovascular disease; ELSA = English Longitudinal Study of Ageing; IQR = interquartile range.
aAll variables had significantly different proportions among the 4 groups. bPolypharmacy refers to taking 5–9 drugs, and heightened polypharmacy refers to taking ≥10 drugs. cThe rest of other conditions, not including diabetes mellitus, CHD, lung disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. dDefined as any difficulty in either activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental ADLs. eDefined as any difficulty in movements of arms or lower limbs. fData were collected before May 2018.