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Table 2 Prevalence of drugs that should be prescribed with special caution

From: Multidrug use positively correlates with high-risk prescriptions in the Japanese elderly: a longitudinal study

PIMs

(Drug class or generic names)

All categories

n = 11,241

1–4 drugs

n = 7723 (%)

5–9 drugs

n = 2802

(%)

≥ 10 drugs

n = 716

(%)

p values

1–4 vs

1–4 vs

5–9 vs

5–9 drugs

≥10 drugs

≥10 drugs

Benzodiazepine derivatives

770

280 (3.6)

330 (11.8)

160 (22.3)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

Non-benzodiazepine hypnotics

380

149 (1.9)

166 (5.9)

65 (9.1)

< .001†**

< .001†**

.002†**

Tricyclic antidepressants

45

20 (0.3)

15 (0.5)

10 (1.4)

.035‡

< .001‡**

.022‡

Sulpiride

24

7 (0.1)

10 (0.4)

7 (1.0)

.005‡*

< .001‡**

.061‡

Antiparkinsonian drugs (anticholinergic drugs)

35

16 (0.2)

18 (0.6)

1 (0.1)

.001‡*

NA

.150‡

Combined therapy with multiple

270

42 (0.5)

123 (4.4)

105 (14.7)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

antithrombotic drugs

(antiplatelet drugs, anticoagulants)

Digoxin (>  0.125 mg/day)

6

0 (0.0)

3 (0.1)

3 (0.4)

.019‡

< .001‡**

.103‡

Loop diuretics

596

84 (1.1)

299 (10.7)

213 (29.7)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

Aldosterone antagonists

409

93 (1.2)

186 (6.6)

130 (18.2)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

α1-Receptor blockers

105

27 (0.3)

40 (1.4)

38 (5.3)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

(nonselective for receptor subtypes)

H1 receptor antagonists

49

20 (0.3)

19 (0.7)

10 (1.4)

.003‡*

< .001‡**

.065‡

(first generation)

H2 receptor antagonists

647

234 (3.0)

301 (10.7)

112 (15.6)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

Antiemetic drugs

126

35 (0.5)

68 (2.4)

23 (3.2)

< .001‡**

< .001‡**

< .001‡**

Sulfonylureas

173

26 (0.3)

107 (3.8)

40 (5.6)

< .001†**

< .001†**

.035†

Biguanides

291

68 (0.9)

163 (5.8)

60 (8.4)

< .001†**

< .001†**

.012†*

Thiazolidine derivatives

89

24 (0.3)

45 (1.6)

20 (2.8)

< .001‡**

< .001‡**

.043‡

α-Glucosidase inhibitors

212

46 (0.6)

101 (3.6)

65 (9.1)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

SGLT2 inhibitors

40

9 (0.1)

25 (0.9)

6 (0.8)

< .001‡**

.001‡**

NA

Oxybutynin (oral)

3

2 (0.0)

1 (0.0)

0 (0.0)

NA

NA

NA

Muscarinic receptor antagonists

139

71 (0.9)

39 (1.4)

29 (4.1)

.035†

< .001†**

< .001†**

NSAIDs

836

344 (4.5)

341 (12.2)

151 (21.1)

< .001†**

< .001†**

< .001†**

  1. The target PIMs are “drugs to be prescribed with special caution” to the elderly according to the Medications for the Elderly Guidelines 2015, or drugs that can be extracted from the electronic medical records (EMR) even if the target population is limited. Sliding-scale insulin was excluded because it could not be extracted from the EMR. † The χ2 test or ‡Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the differences between each group. Correction with the Bonferroni method was performed, and p < .017 (p < .025 for antiparkinsonian drugs and SGLT2 inhibitors) was considered significant. *p < .017 (p < .025); **p < .003 (p < .005). NA, not applicable
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Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences

ISSN: 2055-0294

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