Abstract
Polypharmacy can negatively affect the life of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. There is little evidence on the associated factors of, and patterns of polypharmacy among T2DM patients in developing regions. The aim of this study is to determine the population-based prevalence of polypharmacy, its associated factors, and pattern in southern Iran. We used baseline data from the Pars Cohort Study (PCS). Age-standardized prevalence of polypharmacy and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated. Association of polypharmacy with demographic and socio-economic factors, anthropometric measures, serum biomarkers, physical activity, cigarette and tobacco smoking, and multimorbidity was assessed by applying multivariable Poisson modeling. Prevalence ratio (PR) and its CI were estimated. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system was used for drug classification. Totally, 874 previously diagnosed T2DM patients with a mean age of 56.3±9.2 participated in the study. The estimated age-standardized prevalence for men and women was 17.2% (CI: 12.0-22.0) and 34.1% (CI: 33.2-39.4), respectively. The prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disorders among the study population was 39%, 58% and 20%, respectively. Having more than four comorbidities (PR, 3.90; CI, 2.39-6.34), central obesity (PR, 2.66; CI, 1.03-6.84), and female gender (PR, 1.49; CI, 1.14-1.97) were associated with polypharmacy. Also, 56.0% of patients and 23.0% of elder patients (>59 years old) reported using anti-diabetic agents. Polypharmacy was low among T2DM patients. More than 75% of the elder population were not on anti-diabetic medications. Polypharmacy was higher among patients with multiple comorbidities, central obesity, lower physical activity, lower socio-economic status, younger age at diagnosis, and longer duration of T2DM.
Highlights
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is one of the leading causes of the global burden of diseases
Materials and Methods Study Design, Setting and Participants This is a cross-sectional study which was performed to investigate the population-based prevalence of polypharmacy, its pattern and associated factors among T2DM patients in southern Iran
We showed that more than half of study participants and most of the elder patients did not use conventional anti-diabetic drugs
Summary
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is one of the leading causes of the global burden of diseases. The evidence shows that 114 million (11%) adults currently live with T2DM, which is anticipated to rise to 120 million by 2045.1 A high proportion of these patients may suffer from microvascular and macrovascular complications, and from comorbidities such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, and depression They have to use many medications to manage their glycemic indices, and to prevent or control the complications of their diabetes, or other comorbidities.[2] This leads to a situation called polypharmacy, using five or more drugs, which is highly common, from 57% to 84%, among T2DM patients in the developed countries.[3,4].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
