Self-assessed medication risk factors as part of comprehensive health screening in home-dwelling older adults

Abstract

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Poor medication management may negatively impact the health and functional capacity of older adults. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify medication-related risk factors in home-dwelling residents using a validated self-assessment as part of comprehensive health screening.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The data were derived from comprehensive health screening (PORI75) for older adults of 75 years living in Western Finland in 2020 and 2021. One of 30 validated measures in health screening focused on identifying medication-related risk factors (LOTTA Checklist). The Checklist items were divided into (1) systemic risk factors (10 items) and (2) potentially drug-induced symptoms (10 items). Polypharmacy was categorized according to the number of used drugs: (1) no polypharmacy (<5 drugs), (2) polypharmacy (≥5 and <10), and (3) excessive polypharmacy (≥10). The linearity across these three polypharmacy groups was evaluated using the Cochran-Armitage test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Altogether, 1024 out of 1094 residents who participated in the health screening consented to this study (<em>n</em> = 569 in 2020 and <em>n</em> = 459 in 2021). The mean number of all drugs in use was 7.0 (range 0-26; SD 4.1), with 71% of the residents using >5 drugs, that is, having polypharmacy. Of the systemic risk factors most common was that the resident had more than one physician responsible for the treatment (48% of the residents), followed by missing drug list (43%), missing regular monitoring (35%), and unclear durations of the medication (35%). The most experienced potentially drug-induced symptoms were self-reported constipation (21%), urinating problems (20%), and unusual tiredness (17%). An increasing number of drugs in use, particularly excessive polypharmacy, was associated with various medication-related risk factors.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>As a part of comprehensive health screening the LOTTA Checklist provides useful information to prevent medication-related risk factors in home-dwelling older adults. The Checklist could be used to guide planning and implementing health services in the future.</p>