168174 20260128154425.0 doi 10.3399/bjgp12X659295 sideral 80055 ART-2012-80055 eng Calderón-Larrañaga, A. Multimorbidity, polypharmacy, referrals, and adverse drug events: Are we doing things well? 2012 Background The consequences of multimorbidity include polypharmacy and repeated referrals for specialised care, which may increase the risk of adverse drug events (ADEs). Aim The objective of this study was to analyse the influence of multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and multiple referrals on the frequency of ADEs, as an indicator of therapeutic safety, in the context of a national healthcare system. Design and setting This was a multicentre, retrospective, observational study of 79 089 adult patients treated during 2008 in primary care centres. Method The explanatory patient variables sex, age, level of multimorbidity, polypharmacy, number of primary care physician visits, and number of different specialties attended were analysed. The response variable was the occurrence of ADEs. Logistic regression models were used to identify associations among the analysed variables. Results The prevalence of individuals with at least one ADE was 0.88%. Multivariate analysis identified the following variables as risk factors for the occurrence of ADE in descending order of effect size: multimorbidity level (odds ratio [OR]Veryhigh/Low = 45.26; ORHigh/Low = 17.58; ORModerate/Low = 4.25), polypharmacy (OR = 1.34), female sex (OR = 1.31), number of different specialties (OR = 1.20), and number of primary care physician visits (OR = 1.01). Age, however, did not show statistical significance (OR = 1.00; 95% confidence interval = 0.996 to 1.005). Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate that multimorbidity is strongly related to the occurrence of ADEs, insofar as it requires the intervention of multiple specialties and the prescription of multiple medications. Further research should shed light on the causal pathway between multimorbidity and increased risk of adverse events. info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess All rights reserved http://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ 2.034 2012 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE 3 / 18 = 0.167 2012 Q1 T1 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL 41 / 153 = 0.268 2012 Q2 T1 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Poblador-Plou, B. González-Rubio, F. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2580-2002 Gimeno-Feliu, L. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2928-6623 Abad-Díez, J. M. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-9466-3902 Prados-Torres, A. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-5704-6056 1007 610 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Medicina, Psiqu. y Derm. Area Medicina 1008 615 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Microb.Med.Pr.,Sal.Públ. Área Medic.Prevent.Salud Públ. 62, 605 (2012), e821-e826 Br. j. gen. pract. BRITISH JOURNAL OF GENERAL PRACTICE 0960-1643 80543 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/168174/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2982251 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/168174/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:168174 articulos driver 2026-01-28-15:42:22 ARTICLE