LAUSR

INTRODUCTION The world's older population is growing dramatically. Pharmacotherapy in seniors is particularly challenging due to changes in metabolism, multimorbidity, and great interest in non-prescription drugs. OBJECTIVES We aimed to provide up-to-date data on the pharmacotherapy of Poland's geriatric population, determine factors predisposing  to polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy, and identify seniors most likely to require multidisciplinary interventions in the field of pharmacotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS All prescription and non-prescription drugs used within two weeks preceding the study by a representative national sample of 3014 home-dwelling people over 65 years old were analyzed. The variables of age, sex, place of residence, level of education, and multimorbidity were considered. Post-stratification was used to balance the sample structure to match the Polish population of 2017. RESULTS Consumption of at least one drug was acknowledged by 90.7% of people over 65 years old, with a mean number (with 95% CI) of 5.01 (4.87-5.15). At least one non-prescription drug was indicated by 44.2% of the respondents, with a mean number (with 95% CI) of 0.52 (0.49-0.55). More than five drugs were identified in 53.5% of the entire population, while more than ten drugs were found in 8.7% of the respondents, with multimorbidity as the most predisposing factor. Single pill combinations accounted for 27.2% of  medications. CONCLUSIONS Polypharmacy resulting from multimorbidity confirms the need for combined medical and pharmaceutical care of geriatric patients.