title: Sedative load and frailty among community-dwelling population aged ≥65 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the association between use of sedative drugs and frailty.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  First wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally representative cohort of the community-dwelling population aged 50 years or older in Ireland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 1642 men and 1804 women aged 65 years or older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Regular use of sedative drugs determined according to the sedative load (SL) model, frailty phenotype status, and frailty deficit index (FI) score assessed using validated, established protocols.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 19% of the participants took sedative drugs, most frequently hypnotics and antidepressants. Sedative drug use was at 46% for frail, 23% for prefrail, and 9% for nonfrail participants. After adjustment for covariates, SL was positively associated with being prefrail (odds ratio [OR] 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.46) and frail (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.02-1.64). Advancing age but not sex remained significant (P < .001). After adjustment for covariates, the association between SL and the FI was also significant at P ≤ .001 (β = 1.77; 95% CI 1.13-2.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher SL was positively associated with phenotype frailty and the FI. This suggests that careful consideration must be given when prescribing sedatives to frail older adults, who are most vulnerable to adverse drug reactions and adverse health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Faculty for Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: peklarj@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Jure
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peklar
authors.affiliation: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Aisling M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: O'Halloran
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK; Medicines and Devices in Ageing Cluster, Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing (ARCHA), Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Ian D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Maidment
authors.affiliation: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Martin C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Henman
authors.affiliation: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Department of Medical Gerontology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Rose Anne
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kenny
authors.affiliation: Faculty for Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Mitja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kos
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D057187:Independent Living; D007494:Ireland; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives
keywords: Sedative load; aging; drug utilization; frailty; frailty index