Evaluation of Inappropriate Prescribing in Patients Older than 65 Years in Primary Health Care

Abstract

Dependent variable: Potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) (STOPP/START criteria). Predictor variables: Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics and medication use. A descriptive analysis of the variables was performed. Statistical inference was based on bivariate analysis (Student's <i>t</i> or Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test and chi-squared test) and multivariate analysis was used to control for confounding factors. 73.6% of participants met one or more STOPP/START criteria. According to information about prescribed treatments, 48.5% of participants met at least one STOPP criterion and 43.30% of them met at least one START criterion. The largest percentage of inappropriate prescriptions was associated with cardiovascular treatments. More than three-quarters of the participants had one or more inappropriate prescriptions for medicines in primary care, according to STOPP/START criteria. In addition, PIP was directly related to the number of prescribed medications, gender and specific pathologies (diabetes).