Trends in potentially inappropriate medication prescribing to nursing home patients: comparison of three cross‐sectional studies

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine trends in potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) prescribing in Norwegian nursing homes. Methods Patients aged ≥70 years were included from three cross‐sectional studies conducted in 1997, 2005 and 2011. PIMs were analyzed according to the Norwegian General Practice—Nursing Home criteria (NORGEP‐NH), use of single substances to avoid, combinations to avoid, and deprescribing items. Associations between sample and use of PIMs were examined by logistic regression, adjusted for age, gender, and ward. We established Pearsons r for correlations between numbers of drugs and PIMs. Results Altogether, 4373 patients (mean age 85.7 years, 73.5% women) were included. The mean overall number of drugs per patient increased from 4.7 in 1997 to 6.9 in 2011 (p