Background: Polypharmacy (ie, the use of multiple medications and/or the administration of more medications than are clinically indicated, representing unnecessary drug use) is common among the elderly.
Objective: The goal of this research was to provide a description of observational studies examining the epidemiology of polypharmacy and to review randomized controlled studies that have been published in the past 2 decades designed to reduce polypharmacy in older adults.
Methods: Materials for this review were gathered from a search of the MEDLINE database (1986-June 2007) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1986-June 2007) to identify articles in people aged >65 years.