Polypharmacy is differentially associated with 20-year mortality among community-dwelling elderly women and men: The Israel Glucose Intolerance, Obesity and Hypertension cohort study

Elderly individuals are characterized by multimorbidity and high medication intake, entailing risks for adverse events. We examined the overall and sex-specific association of polypharmacy (≥5 drugs concurrently) with 20-year mortality among community-dwelling older adults. Survivors of the longitudinal Israel Study of Glucose Intolerance, Obesity, and Hypertension underwent extensive evaluation during 1999–2004, and were followed-up for all-cause mortality until 2019. Cox regression examined association of polypharmacy with all-cause mortality. Data included 1210 participants (mean baseline age 72.9 ± 7.4 years, 53% females), 50.7% of them died over a median follow-up of 12.8 years. Women received a higher mean number of drugs (4.3 vs 3.5; p