To determine the association of polypharmacy with nutritional status, functional ability and cognitive capacity among elderly persons.
This was a prospective cohort study of 294 survivors from the population-based Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy for the Good Care of the Elderly (GeMS) Study, with yearly follow-ups during 2004 to 2007. Participants were the citizens of Kuopio, Finland, aged 75 years and older at baseline. Polypharmacy status was categorized as non-polypharmacy (0-5 drugs), polypharmacy (6-9 drugs) and excessive polypharmacy (10+ drugs). A linear mixed model approach was used for analysis the impact of polypharmacy on short form of mini nutritional assessment (MNA-SF), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and mini-mental status examination (MMSE) scores.
Excessive polypharmacy was associated with declined nutritional status (p?=?0.001), functional ability (p?