Table 7 Summary of the main study findings

Drug use

13.4% of patients aged ≥75 years were prescribed ≥8 drugs

Median drug use among the included patients: 9 drugs

Most commonly used drug classes: Angiotensin II receptor antagonists / ACE-inhibitors, protonic pump inhibitors, statins, platelet-aggregation inhibitors, beta-blockers

Chronic conditions

64.9% of the participating patients had ≥5 diagnoses of chronic conditions

Most frequent diagnoses: Arterial hypertension, arthrosis, diabetes mellitus II, dyslipidaemia, atrial fibrillation

PIMs

45.9% of patients were treated with at least one PIM according to the 2012 Beers criteria

Most common PIMs: Benzodiazepines and Zolpidem, NSAIDs / COX-2-inhibitors (Coxibe), antiarrhythmics

DDIs

67.5% of patients were exposed to at least one major DDI

Drug classes most frequently involved in major DDIs: antithrombotic / anticoagulant drugs, antidepressants / antipsychotics, calcium carbonate

Polypharmacy and associated factors

Significant correlations (p < 0.05):

• number of drugs – number of major DDIs (Spearman’s rho: 0.33)

• number of drugs – number of chronic conditions (Spearman’s rho: 0.20)

• number of drugs – reduced affective status (Spearman’s rho: 0.12)

• number of drugs – reduced QoL / health status (Spearman’s rho: −0.14)

Conditions associated with higher numbers of drugs:

Arthrosis, diabetes mellitus II, coronary heart disease, COPD