Factores asociados a la polifarmacia en adultos mayores que acuden a los centros de salud de primer nivel "UNE Totoracocha" y "Pumapungo" en la ciudad de Cuenca, en el periodo mayo – junio 2021

Abstract

Background: all older adults, belonging to a vulnerable group, have a greater indication of chronic diseases, therefore a greater consumption of medications, which leads to the appearance of polypharmacy. Objective: determine the factors associated with Polypharmacy in older adults who attend first level health centers such as "UNE Totoracocha" and "Pumapungo" in Cuenca city, period May - June 2021. Methodology: observational descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, clinical histories of elderly patients from the “UNE Totoracocha” and Pumapungo” health centers were induced, the information was collected using a previously adapted instrument, the data were tabulated in Microsoft Excel and the SPSS software and represented in tables and percentages Results: the universe of study was 300 older adults; the sample size was calculated with 129 patients. There was a predominance of females with 67.4%, the average age of the studied group was 73.52 years. The average number of drugs consumed was 4.13. The relevant associated factors were: female sex (p = 0.035), presence of two or more diseases (p = 0.002), having a basic education level (p = 0.000) and married marital status (p = 0.044). Other factors studied were not significantly relevant.

Conclusion: there is a high prevalence of polypharmacy in the studied population and it is significantly associated with the female sex, presence of two or more diseases, having a basic level of education and married marital status.