Family Pharmacy and Medication Adherence Among Older Adults in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study of JAGES 2019

ObjectivesPoor medication adherence among older adults is a global concern as it causes adverse drug interactions and inappropriate dosing. This study aimed to assess the association between family pharmacy and medication adherence among older adults.MethodsThe Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study was a cross-sectional study of 18,792 people aged ≥65 years living in 61 municipalities in 25 prefectures who participated in a survey conducted in 2019 and did not require long-term care. Self-reported questionnaires were administered to evaluate whether the participants “always received medicines from the same pharmacy” and whether they had unused medicines. Modified Poisson regression was used to examine the association after adjusting for confounders.ResultsUnused medicines were present in 89.9% of the “have group” (individuals who always received their medicines from the same pharmacy). This group had a lower prevalence of unused medicines (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.82–0.92) than the “none group” (individuals who did not always receive their medicines from the same pharmacy). In the stratified analysis by education level, the prevalence of unused medicines was lower among those with low levels of education (≤9 years: PR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.71–0.96; 10–12 years: PR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.74–0.88).DiscussionOlder adults who “always received medicines from the same pharmacy” had a lower prevalence of unused medicines, especially those with low levels of education. Thus, “always receiving medicines from the same pharmacy” may be effective in reducing the proportion of unused medicines and improving medication adherence.