Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
8-1-2024
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.
Keywords
Humans, Polypharmacy, Male, Middle Aged, Female, Multiple Sclerosis, Cross-Sectional Studies, Adult, Aged, Central Nervous System Agents, United States, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Young Adult, Polypharmacy, pharmacoepidemiology, central nervous system-active polypharmacy, CNS-active polypharmacy, psychotropic polypharmacy, claims analysis
DOI
10.1177/13524585241251986
PMID
38751229
PMCID
PMC11363472
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
3-15-2024
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes