SynthesisBMC geriatrics2023
Are there socioeconomic inequalities in polypharmacy among older people? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Realist review: understanding the challenges of medicine optimisation among older people from ethnic minority communities with polypharmacy in primary care.BMC geriatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) in older people and its association with socioeconomic deprivation-a systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Observational
- Economic, cultural and social inequalities in potentially inappropriate medication-An Austrian perspective.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2026Article
- Trends and expenditures in polypharmacy and hyperpolypharmacy among older adults in the United States, 2002-2017.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic deprivation and its association with polypharmacy in England: results from a national cross-sectional survey.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Polypharmacy in HIV: Rethinking what counts and why it matters.HIV medicine · 2026Review
- Association between polypharmacy and hypertension in the Iranian population aged 50 years or older: Iranian Multicenter Osteoporosis Study (IMOS-2021).BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Trends and Socioeconomic Disparities in Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use among 66-Year-Olds in Korea: A Nationwide Study, 2012-2021.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2025Article
- Association between socioeconomic status and dispensing of higher-risk drug classes and polypharmacy in older community-based populations: a nationwide cohort study.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Article
- Association between older adults' socioeconomic status and their healthcare experiences, preferences, and attitudes towards deprescribing: a cross-sectional study in 14 countries.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Household Wealth and Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Persons With Dementia: Role of Comorbidities and Caregivers.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Article
- Polypharmacy and Its Spatial Clustering in Japan: An Ecological Study of the Standardized Polypharmacy Ratio.Cureus · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Health Behaviors in Older Adults: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Patterns of medication use following breast cancer diagnosis: an Australian population-based study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Medication Purchases Are Associated With the Number of Dental Treatments.Clinical and experimental dental research · 2025Article
- Community-level social capital and polypharmacy among public assistance recipients in Japan: A multilevel cross-sectional study.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Association of individual and community-level socioeconomic status and education with medication use: a multilevel analysis in the PERSIAN cohort.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Polypharmacy Is Associated With Slow Gait Speed and Recurrent Falls in Older People With HIV.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Article
- Polypharmacy Is Associated with Sociodemographic Factors and Socioeconomic Status in United States Adults.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSocioeconomic status (SES) may influence prescribing, concordance and adherence to medication regimens. This review set out to investigate the association between polypharmacy and an individual's socioeconomic status.
methodsA systematic review and meta-analyses of observational studies was conducted across four databases. Older people (≥ 55 years) from any healthcare setting and residing location were included. The search was conducted across four databases: Medline (OVID), Web of Science, Embase (OVID) and CINAHL. Observational studies from 1990 that reported polypharmacy according to SES were included. A random-effects model was undertaken comparing those with polypharmacy (≥ 5 medication usage) with no polypharmacy. Unadjusted odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and standard errors (SE) were calculated for each study.
resultsFifty-four articles from 13,412 hits screened met the inclusion criteria. The measure of SES used were education (50 studies), income (18 studies), wealth (6 studies), occupation (4 studies), employment (7 studies), social class (5 studies), SES categories (2 studies) and deprivation (1 study). Thirteen studies were excluded from the meta-analysis. Lower SES was associated with higher polypharmacy usage: individuals of lower educational backgrounds displayed 21% higher odds to be in receipt of polypharmacy when compared to those of higher education backgrounds. Similar findings were shown for occupation, income, social class, and socioeconomic categories.
conclusionsThere are socioeconomic inequalities in polypharmacy among older people, with people of lower SES significantly having higher odds of polypharmacy. Future work could examine the reasons for these inequalities and explore the interplay between polypharmacy and multimorbidity.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.