OBJECTIVES

: Despite its recognized value, polypharmacy is still an under explored research domain in patients with dementia. There is lack of evidence extrapolating the effect of polypharmacy on the components of HRQoL in community dwelling elderly. This study investigated the association of polypharmacy to HRQoL measures among patients with ADRD in the US.

METHODS

: The study used a cross-sectional design using pooled cross-sectional data (2007-2015) of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a nationally representative survey of civilian non-institutionalized population in the US. Study included insured older adults (age ≥ 65 years) with ADRD and were alive during the calendar year (N= 506). Polypharmacy was defined as concurrently taking multiple medication classes (>=5). HRQoL was represented by the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores of the SF-12 survey. Associations of polypharmacy to HRQoL were analyzed with unadjusted and adjusted ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. Age-stratified analyses examined the interaction of age and polypharmacy to HRQoL.

RESULTS

: In our study, 56.6% had polypharmacy; weighted mean (SE) of PCS and MCS scores were (1.26 and 0.60) for individuals with polypharmacy. In age-stratified and fully-adjusted analysis, those with polypharmacy had lower PCS (β = − 4.82 ± 0.04, p < 0.01) and MCS scores (β = − 1.12 ± 0.14, p < 0.01) among older adults in the young-old strata (i.e. age 65-80 years).

CONCLUSIONS

: One in 1.7 older adults with ADRD reported polypharmacy use. Polypharmacy was associated with poor clinically significant HRQoL in young-old with ADRD. The results highlight the importance of incorporating patient-reported outcomes in clinical management of older adults with ADRD and polypharmacy.