The following is a summary of “Associations of Polypharmacy With Clinical Parameters, Function, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Psoriatic Arthritis,” published in the January 2023 issue of Clinical rheumatology by Gürsoy, et al.
The purpose of this research was to examine the factors that lead individuals with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) to use many medications and the impact on their health-related quality of life. Between February and December 2019, researchers collected data in this cross-sectional study. Minor polypharmacy was classified as having between 2 and 4 medications, whereas serious polypharmacy was defined as having 5 or more medications. The Health Assessment Questionnaire and the Short-Form 36 were used to evaluate the subjects’ level of functional impairment and quality of life. The polypharmacy group’s physIn addition, the function, quality of life, and clinical and demographic parameters were compared. Logistic regression was used to examine risk factors for excessive drug use.
One hundred patients were diagnosed with PsA; 70 were female, and 30 were male; their average age was 48.43 ± 12.94 years. There were 19% of patients who used 5 or more medications. There was a significant difference between the two groups on the Short-Form 36’s physical function subscale (P=0.009), while the major polypharmacy group overall scored lower. Major polypharmacy was not linked with sex, BMI, disease duration, disease activity, psoriasis severity, dactylitis, enthesitis, PsA subtypes, smoking status, or the results of the Health Assessment Questionnaire.
The number of comorbidities (odds ratio, 3.151; 95% CI, 1.828-5.429; P<0.001) and age more than equal to 60 years (odds ratio, 4.864; 95% CI, 1.159-20.418; P=0.031) were independently linked with heavy polypharmacy in the multivariable model. Patients with PsA were more likely to have severe polypharmacy if they had multiple comorbid conditions and/or were older than 60. Although there was no correlation between polypharmacy and physical function, individuals who relied heavily on many medications experienced a marked decline in quality of life.
Source: journals.lww.com/jclinrheum/Abstract/2023/01000/Associations_of_Polypharmacy_With_Clinical.1.aspx