Drug consumption among Polish centenarians

The aim of the study was to describe the quantitative and qualitative aspects of pharmacotherapy of Polish centenarians. The studied group consisted of 92 centenarians (mean age: 101.7 ± 1.2 years, 77 females, mean age: 101.5 ± 1.2; 15 males mean age: 102.2 ± 1.2). Among the studied subjects, 18 individuals (19.6% of all subjects) did not use any drugs in his or her daily regimen. The mean number of drugs per person was 2.5 ± 2.5 drugs (prescription drugs: 1.9 ± 2.2 and non-prescription drugs: 0.5 ± 0.8). Fifty-six centenarians (60.9% of all studied subjects) took concomitantly 0–3 drugs daily while 36 (39.1%) took more than 3 drugs daily. Within this group, 30 centenarians (32.6%) took 5 or more drugs concomitantly every day. The most commonly used groups of drugs were: gastrointestinal drugs (55 centenarians, 74.3% of all drug consumed), cardiovascular drugs (51 centenarians, 68.9%) and central nervous system drugs (N) (38 centenarians, 51.4%). In the studied group, 6 persons (8.1% of all drug consumers) were taking one potentially inappropriate drug based on the Beers criteria. To conclude, the mean number of drugs, the prevalence of polypharmacy, and the tendency for potential inappropriateness of treatment are lower among Polish centenarians comparing to the common elderly.