Trends in polypharmacy and dispensed drugs among adults in the Netherlands as compared to the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

Polypharmacy is becoming increasingly common owing to the ageing population, which can pose problems for patients and society. We investigated the trends in polypharmacy and underlying drug groups among adults in the Netherlands from 1999 to 2014 stratified by age, and compared these with findings from the United States (US).

Methods

We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study using the Dutch IADB.nl prescription database. All patients aged 20 years and older in the period 1999 to 2014 were included. Polypharmacy was defined as the dispensing of five or more chronic drugs at the pharmacological subgroup level. Chi-square tests were applied to calculate the p-value for trends. Changes in prevalences were compared between the Netherlands and the US.

SUBMITTER: Oktora MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6430511 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature