Trends in central nervous system-active polypharmacy among people with multiple sclerosis.
Mult Scler
; 30(9): 1139-1150, 2024 Aug.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38751229
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) are at risk of concurrently using multiple central nervous system (CNS)-active drugs, yet the prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy remains unmeasured in pwMS.OBJECTIVE:
The objective is to measure the prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy in pwMS.METHODS:
This serial, cross-sectional study measured CNS-active polypharmacy in people with MS in the United States from 2008 to 2021 using insurance claims data. CNS-active polypharmacy was defined as the concurrent prescription of ⩾3 CNS-active drugs for >30 continuous days. CNS-active drugs included antidepressants, antiepileptics, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, nonbenzodiazepine benzodiazepine receptor agonist hypnotics, opioids, and skeletal muscle relaxants.RESULTS:
The number of subjects included at each time point ranged from 23,917 subjects in 2008 to 55,797 subjects in 2021. In 2021, subjects with CNS-active polypharmacy were more likely to be 46-65 years of age and have CNS-related comorbidities compared to those without CNS-active polypharmacy. From 2008 to 2021, the age-adjusted prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy among female subjects increased from 19.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 19.1-20.4) to 26.4% (95% CI = 25.9-26.8) versus 15.9% (95% CI = 14.8-17.0) to 18.6% (95% CI = 17.9-19.2) in male subjects.CONCLUSION:
The prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy has increased among people with MS with a growing disparity by sex.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Central Nervous System Agents
/
Polypharmacy
/
Multiple Sclerosis
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
Mult Scler
Journal subject:
NEUROLOGIA
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States