Association Of Daily Steps With The Prevalence Of Polypharmacy In Older Adults

PURPOSE: To investigate the association of physical activity as measured objectively by daily steps with polypharmacy in older adults. METHODS: Cross sectional data from the 2015-2024 Physical Activity and Aging Study (PAAS) include 787 older adults aged ≥65 years (mean age 71.7 years, 57.94% female). Participants were classified according to self-reported medication use and defined as polypharmacy if taking ≥5 medications (any medication, including over-the-counter medications). Daily steps were averaged and considered valid if the participant wore the pedometer ≥10 hours for ≥4 days. Daily step averages were classified into quartiles, Low ≤4113 steps/day, moderate (Mod) 4114 and 6662 steps/day, high ≥6663 steps/day. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of polypharmacy prevalence by tertials of average daily steps. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of polypharmacy (≥ 5 medications) was 24%. The most common types of medications were cholesterol management medications (40%) and blood pressure management medications (27%). Compared with the lowest tertial of ≤4107 average daily steps, the ORs (95% CIs) of polypharmacy were 1.01 (0.60-1.67) mod, 0.49 (0.26-0.89) in high for age, sex, race, smoking, alcohol use, education level, marital status, BMI. Similar trends were also observed in men and women in the highest tertial OR of 0.70 (0.28 - 1.4) and 0.36 (0.14 - 0.83), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that higher steps per day (≥ 6663 steps/day) is associated with a lower prevalence of polypharmacy in older adults. However, prospective studies are required. Keywords: Multiple medications, Aging, Activity