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July 9, 2026The Journals of Gerontology Series A

Each additional medication in older adults is associated with a ~5% higher mortality risk.

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Why the study?

Does polypharmacy increase the risk of mortality and hospital admissions in older adults?

Population

16,620,414 older adults from 545 studies across 56 countries

Comparison

Polypharmacy (increasing medication burden) vs Non-polypharmacy

Design

Meta-analysis

Key result

Polypharmacy affects 50.4% of older adults globally, and each additional medication monotonically increases the risk of mortality (HR 1.05; 95% CI 1.03-1.06; P<0.001).

Authors

FTFangyuan TianZCZhaoyan ChenYZYu Zhang

Discussion

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Overview

Supports medication review in older adults; extends global prevalence estimates and risk associations from observational data.

Key Points

  • This study aims to estimate the global prevalence of polypharmacy in older adults and its associations with adverse health outcomes.
  • Conducted a meta-analysis of 545 studies from various databases.
  • Applied random-effects meta-analyses to pool prevalence estimates and hazard ratios.
  • Evaluated study quality using Hoy's method and performed dose-response analyses.
  • Pooled global prevalence of polypharmacy was 50.4% (95% CI: 48.2-52.7%).
  • Found a significant increasing trend in polypharmacy prevalence over calendar years.
  • Each additional medication was associated with increased risks for mortality (HR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.03-1.06), emergency visits (HR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.02-1.03), and hospital admissions (HR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.07).

Study Design

Type

Meta-Analysis (n=16,620,414)

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Does polypharmacy increase the risk of mortality and hospital admissions in older adults?

P
Population
16,620,414 older adults from 56 countries worldwide included in a meta-analysis assessing the prevalence and adverse outcomes of polypharmacy.
E
Exposure
Polypharmacy (increasing medication burden)
C
Comparator
Non-polypharmacy
O
Outcome
Prevalence of polypharmacy and risk of adverse outcomes (mortality, emergency, and hospital admission)hard clinical

Main Result

Hazard Ratio: 1.05 (95% CI 1.03–1.06)

p-value: p=<0.001

Polypharmacy affects approximately half of older adults globally and is associated with a dose-dependent increase in mortality and hospital admissions.

Cite This Study

Tian et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in Polypharmacy (n=16,620,414). Polypharmacy (each additional medication) vs. Non-polypharmacy was evaluated on Mortality (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.06, p=<0.001). Polypharmacy affects 50.4% of older adults globally, and each additional medication monotonically increases the risk of mortality (HR 1.05; 95% CI 1.03-1.06; P<0.001).

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a4f3c8a2b81a944af575df9https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glag176
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