Pattern of drugs prescribed for community-residing middle-aged and older adults from the outskirts of Brasília

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the medication prescribed for a group of middle-aged and older adults that reside in the outskirts of Brasilia and practice physical exercises regularly at a local University. This analysis considered qualitative and quantitative aspects of the medications prescribed to subjects aged 54 to 81 years-old, including their appropriateness and compliance to the Brazilian essential drug list. The units of analysis consisted in each single medication and each individual subject. Among the one hundred twenty-one individuals interviewed, 19.7% declared not to take any medicine whereas the remaining 80.3% revealed to use an average of 3.2 drugs. Among all drugs consumed, 98.1% consisted of physician prescribed medications, being antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory and analgesic products the most frequent therapeutic classes. Consumption of drugs that should be generally avoided by elderly was found not to vary significantly according to age strata, having nonetheless increased (P < 0.05) according to the amount of drugs prescribed. Overall, the group investigated exhibited a homogeneous pattern of drug usage since either the mean general consumption or consumption of particular drug subsets displayed no statistically significant differences related to gender, age, schooling or income. Our findings also indicate a lack of agreement between medications prescribed and the Brazilian cast of essential drugs.