Abstract

Introduction: The pharmacological management of the elderly is not only a challenge for the doctor but also for the patient. These patients present physiological changes that affect drug pharmacokinetics, altered also by the comorbidities of each patient and the pharmacological interactions, more frequently due to greater consumption of medications. Polypharmacy generates inadequate adherence, more pharmacological interactions, and increased adverse reactions (ADR) that compromise quality of life. Objective: To establish the association between polypharmacy, ADR and quality of life in elderly people of the city of Manizales. Materials and methods: A predictive, observational, prospective, longitudinal, analytical and non-interventional design research was developed. We included 165 older adults from Manizales. The WHOQOL-BREF instruments were used for the evaluation of quality of life and the Morisky-Green test to determine the pharmacotherapeutic adherence. Results: 52.7% of the patients were women. The predominant pathologies were hypertension (46.1%) and diabetes mellitus type 2 (8.5%). The frequency of RAM was 73.9%, 68.5% adherence and an average quality of life score of 94.8%. Significant differences were found between schooling, health system affiliation, socioeconomic status, occupation, marital status and social background towards pharmacotherapeutic adherence. Conclusion: An association between health system affiliation and ADRs shows that belonging to the subsidized regime increases the risk of ADR.