Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly

Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly

This indicator data reveals the number of citizens aged 75 and older who have purchased prescription medications from pharmacies during the year that are recommended to be avoided in the Meds75+ database (database category D: "Avoid use in older persons. Risk of adverse effects typically exceeds the benefits. Can be used only in exceptional cases."). When interpreting these figures, it should be noted that different years are not entirely comparable due to changes in both the source register and regional classification, as well as the continuous updating work of the Meds75+ database and any potential changes in the classification of medications between different years.

In 2022, in the entire country and in most well-being regions, over one-third of elderly individuals were using medications recommended for avoidance. The use of medications recommended for avoidance can itself increase the risks associated with medication therapy and the need for healthcare resources without providing clear additional benefits for health. However, recommendations do impact patients' medication therapy with a delay, especially among long-term medication users.

Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly, Well-being regions

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Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly in Finland and by well-being region 2020-2023
Well-being regions Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2023 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2023 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2023 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2022 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2022 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2022 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2021 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2021 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2021 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2020 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2020 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2020 Sort the table ascending by the column
THE ENTIRE COUNTRY 231 925 670 493 34,6 220 478 645 718 34,1 210 565 615 966 34,2 200 392 585 964 34,2
Varsinais-Suomi 22 243 62 349 35,7 21 075 60 111 35,1 19 837 57 201 34,7 19 840 54 080 36,7
Satakunta 11 156 32 277 34,6 10 546 31 239 33,8 10 120 29 913 33,8 9 845 28 720 34,3
Kanta-Häme 8 263 23 750 34,8 7 761 22 749 34,1 7 095 21 631 32,8 6 966 20 524 33,9
Pirkanmaa 21 260 62 967 33,8 20 241 60 591 33,4 19 384 57 629 33,6 18 489 54 663 33,8
Päijät-Häme 10 270 30 113 34,1 9 850 28 871 34,1 9 385 27 550 34,1 8 967 26 119 34,3
Kymenlaakso 9 926 25 047 39,6 9 425 24 318 38,8 9 071 23 305 38,9 8 364 22 488 37,2
South Karelia 6 799 19 065 35,7 6 435 18 504 34,8 6 380 17 839 35,8 5 745 17 220 33,4
South Savo 7 806 22 386 34,9 7 318 21 849 33,5 7 063 21 000 33,6 6 457 20 303 31,8
North Savo 12 028 33 273 36,1 11 400 32 195 35,4 11 015 30 978 35,6 10 519 29 760 35,3
North Karelia 8 281 22 917 36,1 7 898 22 182 35,6 7 573 21 265 35,6 7 222 20 196 35,8
Central Finland 11 847 34 291 34,5 11 263 32 983 34,1 10 855 31 393 34,6 10 231 30 001 34,1
South Ostrobothnia 9 269 26 529 34,9 8 845 25 679 34,4 8 440 24 672 34,2 7 667 23 680 32,4
Ostrobothnia 7 501 22 799 32,9 7 214 22 236 32,4 6 890 21 501 32,0 6 155 20 494 30,0
Central Ostrobothnia 3 172 8 755 36,2 3 067 8 347 36,7 2 934 7 889 37,2 2 699 7 512 35,9
North Ostrobothnia 13 991 43 135 32,4 13 315 41 450 32,1 12 846 39 665 32,4 11 970 37 684 31,8
Kainuu 3 917 10 649 36,8 3 847 10 382 37,1 3 739 10 063 37,2 3 577 9 787 36,5
Lapland 6 948 23 222 29,9 6 862 22 538 30,4 6 515 21 575 30,2 6 349 20 652 30,7
Eastern Uusimaa 3 950 11 852 33,3 3 678 11 270 32,6 3 484 10 687 32,6 3 356 10 009 33,5
Central Uusimaa 7 006 20 063 34,9 6 485 18 964 34,2 6 203 17 823 34,8 5 960 16 522 36,1
Western Uusimaa 15 629 46 162 33,9 14 938 43 809 34,1 13 975 41 151 34,0 13 284 38 302 34,7
Vantaa-Kerava 7 969 23 253 34,3 7 492 22 086 33,9 7 019 20 707 33,9 6 680 19 240 34,7
Helsinki 20 912 61 821 33,8 19 873 59 712 33,3 19 203 57 071 33,6 18 461 54 368 34,0
Åland Islands 1 229 3 818 32,2 1 220 3 653 33,4 1 131 3 458 32,7 1 115 3 284 34,0

Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly, 1. taulukon kuvausteksti

Table 1. The percentage of the population aged 75 and older (at least 75 years old at the end of the respective year) who have used class D medications from Fimea's Meds75+ database, starting from 2020, for the entire country and by well-being regions. Source: Kela, Kanta services Prescription Center.

Table 1 in an accessible format (pdf)

Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly, pylväsdiagrammi

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EN Vältettävien lääkkeiden käyttö iäkkäillä, pylväskaavion kuvausteksti

The bar chart’s data in an accessible format (pdf)

Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly, Hospital districts

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Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly in Finland and by Hospital District 2015-2019
Hospital districts Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2019 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2019 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2019 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2018 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2018 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2018 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2017 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2017 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2017 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2016 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2016 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2016 Sort the table ascending by the column Users 2015 Sort the table ascending by the column Population 2015 Sort the table ascending by the column Percentage % 2015 Sort the table ascending by the column
THE ENTIRE COUNTRY 117 015 561 292 20,9 114 140 549 051 20,8 118 938 585 608 20,3 125 552 535 795 23,4 127 073 515 333 24,7
Helsinki and Uusimaa 28 933 129 631 22,3 28 702 124 407 23,1 29 192 131 994 22,1 30 540 117 697 25,9 30 444 111 708 27,3
Varsinais-Suomi 11 358 52 263 21,7 11 253 51 055 22,0 11 833 54 523 21,7 12 586 50 057 25,1 12 669 48 287 26,2
Satakunta 5 430 27 837 19,5 5 444 27 471 19,8 5 752 29 422 19,6 6 109 27 255 22,4 6 175 26 451 23,4
Kanta-Häme 4 028 19 647 20,5 3 980 19 289 20,6 4 117 20 565 20,0 4 477 19 002 23,6 4 661 18 324 25,4
Pirkanmaa 10 987 54 876 20,0 10 936 53 565 20,4 11 460 57 111 20,1 11 983 52 213 22,9 12 038 50 376 23,9
Päijät-Häme 5 316 25 393 20,9 5 392 24 600 21,9 5 596 26 145 21,4 5 850 23 776 24,6 5 908 22 706 26,0
Kymenlaakso 5 012 21 584 23,2 4 799 21 243 22,6 4 984 22 748 21,9 5 172 20 971 24,7 5 160 20 298 25,4
South Karelia 3 522 16 829 20,9 3 282 16 691 19,7 3 355 17 828 18,8 3 564 16 522 21,6 3 654 15 952 22,9
South Savo 2 860 14 033 20,4 3 010 13 873 21,7 3 173 14 857 21,4 3 289 13 843 23,8 3 395 13 413 25,3
East Savo 1 142 6 342 18,0 1 220 6 246 19,5 1 303 6 696 19,5 1 431 6 231 23,0 1 451 6 139 23,6
North Karelia 4 139 19 754 20,9 3 888 19 635 19,8 4 106 21 081 19,5 4 356 19 543 22,3 4 458 18 929 23,6
North Savo 6 171 28 212 21,9 6 009 27 965 21,5 6 309 29 962 21,1 6 806 27 858 24,4 7 076 27 107 26,1
Central Finland 5 407 25 871 20,9 4 837 25 497 19,0 5 183 27 213 19,1 5 491 25 100 21,9 5 570 24 149 23,1
South Ostrobothnia 4 493 22 986 19,6 4 519 22 785 19,8 4 717 24 388 19,3 5 128 22 819 22,5 5 358 22 264 24,1
Vaasa 3 190 18 928 16,9 3 343 18 609 18,0 3 530 19 853 17,8 3 650 18 267 20,0 3 600 17 672 20,4
Central Ostrobothnia 1 851 8 408 22,0 1 747 8 224 21,2 1 863 8 811 21,1 1 926 8 120 23,7 2 014 7 796 25,8
North Ostrobothnia 6 711 35 718 18,8 5 899 35 182 16,8 6 197 37 385 16,6 6 514 34 088 19,1 6 719 32 401 20,7
Kainuu 2 072 9 500 21,8 1 784 9 440 18,9 1 920 10 123 19,0 2 048 9 446 21,7 1 994 9 151 21,8
Länsi-Pohja 1 225 7 173 17,1 1 158 7 209 16,1 1 207 7 735 15,6 1 229 7 166 17,1 1 312 6 947 18,9
Lapland 2 528 13 182 19,2 2 269 13 073 17,4 2 474 14 014 17,6 2 722 13 033 20,9 2 730 12 543 21,8
Åland Islands 628 3 125 20,1 573 2 992 19,2 568 3 154 18,0 589 2 788 21,1 584 2 720 21,5

Use of Avoidable Medications in the Elderly, 2. taulukon kuvausteksti ja lue lisää

Table 2. The percentage of the population aged 75 and older (at least 75 years old at the end of the respective year) who have used class D medications from Fimea's Meds75+ database, for the years 2015-2019, for the entire country and by hospital districts. Source: Kela, Reimbursed Medication Supplies from Health Insurance.

Table 2 in an accessible format (pdf)

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Meds75+ Database of Medication for Older Persons (fimea.fi)