An update on the clinical consequences of polypharmacy in older adults: a narrative review

The prevalence of polypharmacy is increasing worldwide. More than half of the older population is exposed to polypharmacy in some settings. Polypharmacy is associated with a broad range of clinical consequences. However, methods to assess the dangers of polypharmacy should be refined. In our opinion, the issue of 'confounding by multimorbidity' has been underestimated and should be better accounted for in future studies. Moreover, researchers should develop more clinically relevant definitions of polypharmacy, including measures of inappropriate or problematic polypharmacy.