title: Birth cohort differences in the use of medications in a Brazilian population of older elderly: the Bambuí Cohort Study of Aging (1997 and 2008).
abstract: This study examined differences in the use of medications in two birth cohorts (born from 1916 to 1926 and from 1927 to 1937) among older elderly in the population-based cohort study in Bambuí, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The study used data on participants who were 71-81 years of age in the baseline survey in 1997 (n = 492) and in the 11th wave, in 2008 (n = 620). The number of medications currently consumed (mean = 4.6 and 3.4, respectively) and prevalence of polypharmacy (46.6% and 29.1%, respectively) were higher in the more recent cohort as compared to the earlier one. These differences were independent of gender, age, schooling, number of medical visits in the previous 12 months, and number of chronic conditions. The more recent cohort showed significant differences in the use of psychoactive drugs, lipid modifying agents, drugs for diabetes, and antithrombotic agents, as well as changes in drugs used for arterial hypertension. In general, these changes are consistent with those observed in elderly populations in high-income countries.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Estudos em Saúde Pública e Envelhecimento, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil. aloy@cpqrr.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Antônio Ignácio de
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Loyola Filho
authors.forename: Josélia O A
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Firmo
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uchôa
authors.forename: Maria Fernanda
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lima-Costa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019338:Polypharmacy