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Association of polypharmacy with fall-related fractures in older Taiwanese people: age- and gender-specific analyses.

ABSTRACT: To elucidate the associations between polypharmacy and age- and gender-specific risks of admission for fall-related fractures.Nested case-control study.This analysis was randomly selected from all elderly beneficiaries in 2007-2008, and represents some 30% of the whole older insurers using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.We identified 5933 cases newly admitted for fall-related fractures during 2007-2008, and 29 665 random controls free from fracture.Polypharmacy was defined as the use of fall-related drugs of four or more categories of medications and prescribed related to fall within a 1-year period. Logistic regression models were employed to estimate the ORs and related 95% CIs. The interaction of polypharmacy with age and sex was assessed separately.Compared with those who consumed no category of medication, older people who consumed 1, 2, 3 and ?4 categories of medications were all at significantly increased odds of developing fall-related fractures, with a significant dose-gradient pattern (?=0.7953; p for trend <0.0001). There were significant interactions between polypharmacy and age, but no significant interactions between polypharmacy and gender. The dose-gradient relationship between number of medications category and risk of fall-related fractures was more obvious in women than in men (?=0.1962 vs ?=0.1873). Additionally, it was most evident in older people aged 75-84 years (?=0.2338).This population-based study in Taiwan confirms the link between polypharmacy and increased risk of fall-related fractures in older people; and highlights that elderly women and older people aged 75-84 years will be the targeted participants for further prevention from fall-related fractures caused by polypharmacy.

SUBMITTER: Pan HH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3975737 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association of polypharmacy with fall-related fractures in older Taiwanese people: age- and gender-specific analyses.

Pan Hsueh-Hsing HH Li Chung-Yi CY Chen Tzeng-Ji TJ Su Tung-Ping TP Wang Kwua-Yun KY

BMJ open 20140328 3

<h4>Objective</h4>To elucidate the associations between polypharmacy and age- and gender-specific risks of admission for fall-related fractures.<h4>Design</h4>Nested case-control study.<h4>Setting</h4>This analysis was randomly selected from all elderly beneficiaries in 2007-2008, and represents some 30% of the whole older insurers using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.<h4>Participants</h4>We identified 5933 cases newly admitted for fall-related fractures during 2007-2008, a ...[more]

PMID: 24682575

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Dataset Information

Association of polypharmacy with fall-related fractures in older Taiwanese people: age- and gender-specific analyses.

Publications

Association of polypharmacy with fall-related fractures in older Taiwanese people: age- and gender-specific analyses.

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