Prescribing patterns in the very old: findings from the Newcastle 85+ Study

Conference:

SAPC ASM 2019 - Exeter

Talk Code:

P2.19

Presenter:

Laurie Davies

Co-authors:

Andrew Kingston, Adam Todd, Rachel Duncan, Barbara Hanratty

Author institutions:

Newcastle University, Institute of Health and Society

Problem

The very old (85+ years) are the fastest growing section of society, in whom multimorbidity and polypharmacy are the norm. Previous research has informed our understanding of medication use in later life, however little is known about prescribing trends in the very old. The aim of this study is to characterise the longitudinal changes in medication use amongst the very old.

Approach

Longitudinal analyses of medication data amongst survivors will be analysed from waves 1-4 of the Newcastle 85+ Study. The Newcastle 85+ Study is a prospective cohort study of people living in North-East England, who were born in 1921.

Findings

Early findings will be presented through graphical representation.

Consequences

This work will provide a greater understanding of medication use in octogenarians as they become nonagenarians, and may help to highlight inappropriate prescribing patterns that could focus the deprescribing agenda.

Submitted by:

Laurie Davies

Funding acknowledgement:

This work presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research (NIHR SPCR). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The Newcastle 85+ Study has been funded by the Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Dunhill Medical Trust and the National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research. Parts of the work have also been funded by the British Heart Foundation, Unilever Corporate Research, Newcastle University, NHS North of Tyne (Newcastle Primary Care Trust). Mortality data were obtained from NHS Digital. We acknowledge the operational support of the North of England Commissioning Support Unit, the National Institute of Health Research Clinical Research Network North East and North Cumbria, local general practitioners and their staff. We thank the research nurses, laboratory technicians, data management and clerical team for their work throughout, as well as many colleagues for their expert advice. Thanks are due especially to the study participants and, where appropriate, their families and carers.