Table 1 Baseline characteristics of 3,007,620 participants stratified by the number of daily prescribed medications.
From: Polypharmacy, hospitalization, and mortality risk: a nationwide cohort study
Characteristic | Overall | Number of routinely-prescribed medications (per day) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 to 2 | 3 to 4 | 5 to 6 | 7 to 8 | 9 to 10 | ≥ 11 | ||
Number of participants | 3,007,620 | 764,673 | 841,498 | 618,087 | 388,520 | 211,000 | 183,842 |
Number of medications | 4.9 ± 3.2 | 1.6 ± 0.5 | 3.5 ± 0.5 | 5.5 ± 0.5 | 7.4 ± 0.5 | 9.4 ± 0.5 | 12.9 ± 2.4 |
Age, years | 73.4 ± 6.3 | 72.6 ± 6.2 | 73.1 ± 6.3 | 73.7 ± 6.3 | 74.0 ± 6.3 | 74.3 ± 6.2 | 74.3 ± 6.0 |
65–69 years, % | 31.5 | 37.2 | 33.3 | 29.5 | 26.7 | 24.9 | 23.8 |
70–74 years, % | 31.0 | 30.8 | 31.2 | 31.1 | 30.9 | 30.6 | 31.1 |
75–79 years, % | 20.7 | 17.9 | 19.7 | 21.5 | 23.0 | 24.2 | 25.3 |
≥ 80 years, % | 16.9 | 14.1 | 15.8 | 18.0 | 19.5 | 20.4 | 19.8 |
Gender, % men | 39.5 | 38.5 | 40.1 | 39.8 | 39.2 | 39.3 | 40.6 |
Residential area, % | |||||||
Large city | 43.5 | 44.6 | 43.8 | 43.1 | 42.5 | 42.4 | 42.5 |
Small city | 42.8 | 42.1 | 42.8 | 43.0 | 43.2 | 43.1 | 43.8 |
Rural area | 13.7 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.4 | 13.7 |
CCI scores | 2.0 ± 1.7 | 1.3 ± 1.4 | 1.7 ± 1.5 | 2.2 ± 1.7 | 2.6 ± 1.8 | 3.0 ± 2.0 | 3.6 ± 2.0 |
0, % | 18.5 | 32.4 | 22.4 | 12.5 | 7.5 | 4.7 | 2.5 |
1, % | 27.6 | 32.1 | 31.8 | 28.0 | 22.4 | 17.6 | 11.4 |
2, % | 22.2 | 19.1 | 22.3 | 24.9 | 24.9 | 23.1 | 18.9 |
≥ 3, % | 31.7 | 16.5 | 23.5 | 34.7 | 45.2 | 54.6 | 67.3 |
Comorbid conditions, % | |||||||
Hypertension | 79.5 | 65.0 | 79.1 | 84.1 | 88.6 | 91.1 | 93.2 |
Diabetes | 36.9 | 19.9 | 29.8 | 42.2 | 51.5 | 58.5 | 67.1 |
Acute myocardial infarction | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 5.0 |
Heart failure | 4.7 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 11.1 |
Cerebrovascular disease | 13.9 | 5.0 | 10.1 | 16.5 | 21.1 | 24.9 | 30.6 |
Hemiplegia | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
Dementia | 6.8 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.1 | 10.9 | 14.0 |
Peripheral vascular disease | 20.4 | 13.3 | 20.1 | 22.4 | 24.3 | 23.0 | 29.5 |
Liver disease | 5.9 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.7 |
Chronic pulmonary disease | 26.3 | 23.2 | 24.1 | 26.4 | 29.0 | 31.6 | 36.3 |
Connective tissue disease | 6.3 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.6 | 8.8 | 10.9 |
Peptic ulcer disease | 34.7 | 31.0 | 31.9 | 35.2 | 38.0 | 41.0 | 46.5 |
Chronic kidney disease | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.2 |
Malignancy | 6.7 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 8.0 |
