Search

Objectives: Polypharmacy and frailty are two common geriatric conditions. In community-dwelling healthy older adults, we examined whether polypharmacy is associated with frailty and affects disability-free survival (DFS), assessed as a composite of death, dementia, or persistent physical disability., Methods: We included 19,114 participants (median age 74.0 years, IQR: 6.1 years) from ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) clinical trial. Frailty was assessed by a modified Fried phenotype and a deficit accumulation Frailty Index (FI). Polypharmacy was defined as concomitant use of five or more prescription medications. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the cross-sectional association between polypharmacy and frailty at base line, and Cox regression to determine the effect of polypharmacy and frailty on DFS over five years., Results: Individuals with polypharmacy (vs. <5 medications) were 55% more likely to be pre-frail (Relative Risk Ratio or RRR: 1.55; 95%Confidence Interval or CI:1.44, 1.68) and three times more likely to be frail (RRR: 3.34; 95%CI:2.64, 4.22) according to Fried phenotype. Frailty alone was associated with double risk of the composite outcome (Hazard ratio or HR: 2.16; 95%CI: 1.56, 2.99), but frail individuals using polypharmacy had a four-fold risk (HR: 4.24; 95%CI: 3.28, 5.47). Effect sizes were larger when frailty was assessed using the FI., Conclusion: Polypharmacy was significantly associated with pre-frailty and frailty at baseline. Polypharmacy-exposed frailty increased the risk of reducing disability-free survival among older adults. Addressing polypharmacy in older people could ameliorate the impact of frailty on individuals' functional status, cognition and survival., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Low back pain is prevalent in older populations and modifiable risk factors may include being overweight or obese. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and impact of moderate or severe low back pain in community-dwelling older adults and its association with body mass index (BMI)., Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 16,439 Australians aged ≥70 years. Logistic regression was used to describe associations between the presence or absence of moderate or severe low back pain experienced on most days with BMI. Analyses were conducted separately for males and females, and controlled for age and depression at baseline., Results: Of 14,155 pain question respondents, 11 % of males (n = 710/6475) and 18 % of females (n = 1391/7680) reported moderate or severe low back pain (total 15 %, n = 2101/14,155). Of those reporting moderate or severe low back pain (n = 2101), 55 % reported taking pain-relieving medication regularly, and 29 % reported that the pain regularly interfered with sleep, 37 % with walking, and 47 % with day to day activities. When age and depression were controlled for, there was a statistically significant (p < 0.001) association between moderate or severe low back pain and being overweight (females: odds ratio OR = 1.50, 95 % confidence interval CI = 1.27-1.76) or obese (males: OR = 2.23, 95 %CI = 1.77-2.80 and females: OR = 2.91, 95 %CI = 2.48-3.42)., Conclusion: Moderate or severe low back pain is common, has a significant impact, and is associated with either an overweight or obese BMI among community-dwelling Australians aged ≥70 years., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)