Racial differences in medication use among older, long-stay Veterans Affairs nursing home care unit patients.
OBJECTIVE
To examine racial differences in medication use by older long-stay Veterans Affairs Nursing Home Care Unit (NHCU) patients.


METHODS
Longitudinal study.


METHODS
133 Veterans Affairs NHCUs.


METHODS
Three thousand four hundred eighty veterans 65 years of age or older admitted between January 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005, for 90 days or more.


METHODS
Prevalence of those taking nine or more medications (i.e., polypharmacy) and medications from specific therapeutic medication classes. Racial differences were determined using 0.05 level chi-squared tests.


RESULTS
The sample consisted of 14.3% who were black. Blacks compared with whites (all comparisons P < 0.05 except where noted) were younger (13.6% vs. 17.4%, older than 85 years of age), had less depression (22.24 vs. 29.79%), less allergies (9.82% vs. 20.36%), and a similar rate of moderate-to severe pain (22.65% vs. 24.05; P = 0.49). The percent of polypharmacy was similar by race (blacks 74.35% vs. whites 71.18%; P = 0.62), as was the prevalence of medication class use with the exceptions that blacks were less likely than whites to take central nervous system (CNS) medications (75.75% vs. 80.14%; P = 0.02) and antihistamines (13.03% vs. 16.8%; P = 0.04). Specifically, blacks were less likely than whites to receive a selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant (20.84% vs. 27.17%; P < 0.01) or a second-generation antihistamine (3.41% vs. 6.51%; P < 0.01), but more likely than whites to receive opioids (14.63% vs. 11.27%; P = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
There appears to be racial differences in the overall use of antihistamines and CNS medications and some of their subclasses.
Hanlon
Joseph T
JT
Wang
Xiaoqjang
X
Good
C Bernie
CB
Rossi
Michelle I
MI
Stone
Roslyn A
RA
Selma
Todd P
TP
Handler
Steven M
SM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019338:Polypharmacy; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001741:Black or African American
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations