Background: Polypharmacy especially in elderly is a challenging public health problem all
over the world that leads to increased hospitalization, poor quality of life and represents an
economic burden especially in developing countries like Egypt. Objectives: To estimate the
prevalence of polypharmacy and identify associated factors among elderly persons. Method:
A descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted from August to December 2017, in Benha city,
Qalubiya Governorate, Egypt. Study population is 60 years elder and over. They were
interviewed by the researcher using a standardized valid questionnaire. Results: A total of
300 elderly persons were enrolled. Approximately 67%aged between 60 and 70 years,
73.7%of them live with their families, and 51.7% of them had a monthly income more than
2000 LE, 80% of them was non-smokers, and 85.3% of them reported using five or more
medications. Logistic regression revealed that the significant predictors of polypharmacy use
were sex (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR), 0.1; 95% CI 0.04-0.28, p |
