Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In January 2023, the National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA) conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional internet and telephone survey of U.S. adults aged 50–80 years using NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel®. Respondents self-reported if they had cardiovascular disease (CVD), arthritis, diabetes, a psychiatric condition, or lung disease. We asked respondents how many prescription medications they take in a typical week (0, 1–2, 3–4, or 5 or more). Respondents who reported taking one or more prescription medications, were asked their level of agreement with stopping a medication if a healthcare professional (HCP) said it was possible (5-point Likert scale: strongly agree, agree, unsure, disagree, strongly disagree). Respondents who agreed or strongly agreed were asked what type of medication they would be most interested in stopping (medications for heart disease treatment or prevention, diabetes, pain, brain-related issues, or respiratory disease). We also collected demographic characteristics. This study was deemed exempt by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board. We calculated descriptive statistics using survey weights to generate nationally representative estimates and 95% confidence intervals. All analyses were conducted using Stata 17.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX). We sampled 4,196 community-dwelling adults 50 to 80 years, of whom 2,563 completed the survey (61.1% completion rate). Most respondents identified as female (52.2%) and White, non-Hispanic (70.0%) (Table 1 ). Most respondents (82.4%) reported taking at least one prescription medication in a typical week. Of these, most (79.9%) agreed that they would stop one or more prescription medications if their HCP said it was possible. Among these respondents, the most common chronic condition was CVD (84.3%), followed by arthritis (49.5%), diabetes (28.5%), a psychiatric condition (21.6%), or lung disease (10.8%) (Fig. 1 ). Respondents with CVD were most interested in stopping a medication for heart disease treatment or prevention (35.3%) while respondents with diabetes were most interested in stopping a diabetes medication (30.2%). In contrast, respondents with a corresponding chronic condition less frequently reported a desire to stop a medication for a brain-related issue (19.4%), pain (16.7%), or respiratory disease (13.9%). Weighted prevalence of self-reported chronic conditions and interest in stopping a related medication if a healthcare provider said it was possible among adults age 50-80 (n = 2,103). Respondents who reported taking one or more prescription medications and answered “strongly agree” or “agree” to the statement, “If my health care provider said it was possible, I would be willing to stop one or more of my prescription medicines” were asked what type of medication they would prefer to stop.
Language: English
Subfield: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,990
Funders: AARP, National Science Foundation, American Diabetes Association, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Kaiser Permanente, University of Pennsylvania, Health Services Research and Development, Washington State University, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg, University of California, Los Angeles
OpenAlex ID: W4400728065