Association of polypharmacy at hospital discharge with nutritional intake, muscle strength, and activities of daily living among older patients undergoing convalescent rehabilitation after stroke.

Abstract

To investigate the association between polypharmacy at discharge and nutritional intake, muscle strength, and activities of daily living (ADL) among older patients undergoing convalescent rehabilitation after stroke. This cross-sectional study involved hospitalized patients aged 65 or older who underwent convalescent rehabilitation after stroke. Polypharmacy was defined as the use of six or more medications. Study outcomes included energy intake, protein intake, handgrip strength (HG), and motor subscore of Functional Independence Measure (FIM-motor) at hospital discharge. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between polypharmacy at discharge and outcomes. Of 361 eligible patients (mean [±SD] age, 78.3 ± 7.7 years; 49.3% male), 62.9% had polypharmacy. Multiple regression analysis revealed that polypharmacy at discharge was negatively associated with energy intake (β = -0.122, p = 0.003), protein intake (β = -0.133, p = 0.013), HG (β = -0.070, p = 0.022), and FIM-motor score (β = -0.069, p = 0.031) at discharge. The impact of polypharmacy should be considered when designing nutritional management strategies for rehabilitation patients to maximize rehabilitation outcomes.