Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics, medication information, PIMs prevalence, medication with PIM use, and VAS scale for medication adherence
| Variable (n = 773) | Item | Total, n (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Age, years | Median (IQR) | 73.7(69.1, 79.6) |
| 65–74 | 431(55.8%) | |
| ≥ 75 | 342(44.2%) | |
| Gender | Male | 455(58.9%) |
| Female | 318(41.1%) | |
| Marital status | Married | 653(84.5%) |
| Single/divorced/widowed | 120(15.5%) | |
| Living condition | Living with family members | 665(86.0%) |
| Alone | 108(14.0%) | |
| Education attainment | Lowa | 602(77.9%) |
| Highb | 171(22.1%) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | Median (IQR) | 24.3(22.0, 26.7) |
| Smoking | Yes | 256(33.1%) |
| No | 517(66.9%) | |
| Alcohol drinking | Yes | 82(10.6%) |
| No | 691(89.4%) | |
| Cognitive impairment | Yes | 164(21.2%) |
| No | 609(78.8%) | |
| Hospital admissions within the last year | Yes | 448(58.0%) |
| No | 325(42.0%) | |
| Comorbidities | Number, median (IQR) | 5.0(4.0, 6.0) |
| Hypertension | 683(88.4%) | |
| Coronary heart disease | 492(63.7%) | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 422(54.6%) | |
| Dyslipidemia | 372(48.1%) | |
| Stroke | 273(35.3%) | |
| Visiting the same physicians | Yes | 388(50.2%) |
| No | 385(49.8%) | |
| Number of prescribers | 1–2 | 607(78.5%) |
| 3 and above | 166(21.5%) | |
| Medications | Number, Median (IQR) | 6.0(5.0, 7.0) |
| 5–7 | 660(85.4%) | |
| 8–9 | 92(11.9%) | |
| > 10 | 21(2.7%) | |
| ATC Classificationc | Cardiovascular system | 763(98.7%) |
| Alimentary tract and metabolism | 679(87.8%) | |
| Blood and blood-forming organs | 316(40.9%) | |
| Nervous system | 182(23.5%) | |
| Ability to self-administer medications | Yes | 683(88.4%) |
| No | 90(11.6%) | |
| History of ADE | Yes | 140(18.1%) |
| No | 633(81.9%) | |
| Medical insurance | Yes | 733(94.8%) |
| No | 40(5.2%) | |
| % of drug costs of medical expenses | < 10% | 321(41.5%) |
| ≥ 10% | 452(58.5%) | |
| PIM use | 479(62.0%) | |
| Medications category with PIMs | Blood and blood-forming organs | 214(27.7%) |
| Cardiovascular system | 183(23.7%) | |
| Alimentary tract and metabolism | 86(11.1%) | |
| Nervous system | 83(10.7%) | |
| Genito urinary system and sex hormones | 13(1.7%) | |
| Musculo-skeletal system | 6(0.8%) | |
| Systemic hormonal preparations, excl. sex hormones and insulins | 4(0.5%) | |
| Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents | 1(0.1%) | |
| Medication adherence (VAS scale) | Median (IQR) | 88.0(65.0, 100.0) |
| 0–19 | 5(0.7%) | |
| 20–39 | 34(4.4%) | |
| 40–59 | 114(14.7%) | |
| 60–79 | 88(11.4%) | |
| 80–100 | 532(68.8%) |
IQR Interquartile range, BMI Body mass index, ADE Adverse drug event, PIM Potentially inappropriate medication, VAS Visual analogue scale, ATC Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical
aPrimary school and below were included
bMiddle school and above were included
cOnly the categories of medications used more than 10% were listed