Barba-Díaz A

Language: Spanish
References: 7
Page: 6-9
PDF size: 311.54 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: polypharmacy is common in older adults due to their high risk of suffering from multiple concurrent diseases. Polypharmacy is a significant risk factor for falls in the elderly. Objective: to characterize older adults over 60 who have polypharmacy and a high fall risk score from the gerontology service of ISSSTE Aguascalientes. Material and methods: this is a descriptive cross-sectional study. It included older adults over 60 who attended the gerontology service of the clinic. The Downton scale and a questionnaire to assess polypharmacy were applied. The analysis was carried out using the STATA v.16 program. Results: a percentage of polypharmacy of 54.4% was found, with a high level of falls in 80.1%, medium risk of 11.3% and low risk of 8.6%. It was found that there is a relationship between polypharmacy and falls (p < 0.001). Conclusions: older adults who attend the gerontology service of the clinic have polypharmacy in 54.4% of the cases, and a statistically significant relationship between polypharmacy and the risk of falls. These results underscore the importance of using scales to measure the risk of falls and polypharmacy in older adults, with the aim of implementing strategies to help prevent or reduce the risk of this vulnerable population suffering damage to their health, allowing them to maintain an optimal quality of life.

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