Relationship between anxiety and quality of life among older adults with self-reported polypharmacy in long-term care: A cross-sectional study

To investigate the relationship between anxiety and quality of life among older adults with self-reported polypharmacy living in the long-term care setting. A cross-sectional design was used. Between July 2021 and August 2022, 92 older adults living in long-term care completed an anonymous one-time questionnaire packet. Polypharmacy was measured as self-reported five or more medications daily. Anxiety was measured using the Geriatric Anxiety Scale-Long Term Care tool. Quality of life was measured as health-related quality of life using two global questions from the RAND-36 and as medication-related quality of life using the Medication-Related Quality of Life Scale. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 89%. Among participants with polypharmacy, average age was 80.1 ± 7.9 years. The majority were female (70%) and white (85%). There was a moderate-to-strong correlation between anxiety and quality of life. Specifically, anxiety was negatively related to current health-related quality of life, perceived change in health-related quality of life and medication-related quality of life. Overall, anxiety explained 27-31% of the variance in both health-related and medication-related quality of life. The results of this study indicate that as anxiety increases, health-related and medication-related quality of life decreases in older adults living in long-term care who report consuming five or more medications daily. Advanced practice nurses can use these findings to guide practice, tailor interventions and improve care for these long-term care residents. Multiple medications are increasingly prescribed to treat multiple comorbidities in older adults. As a result, the prevalence of polypharmacy (≥5 medications per day) is rising and problematic. The main findings of this study highlight the negative relationship between anxiety and quality of life in this population and the need for adequate assessment of anxiety by advanced practice nurses in order to personalize care. In preparing the manuscript, the authors have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines and the STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies. No patient or public contribution outside of participation in the actual study for purposes of data collection.