Common Use of Antipsychotic Polypharmacy in Older Asian Patients With Schizophrenia (2001-2009)

• Published in: Journal of clinical psychopharmacology Vol. 32; no. 6; pp. 809 - 813
• Main Authors: XIANG, Yu-Tao, DICKERSON, Faith, CHONG, Mian-Yoon, TAN, Chay-Hoon, KUA, Ee-Heok, FUJII, Senta, SIM, Kang, YONG, Michael K. H, TRIVEDI, Jitendra K, CHUNG, Eun-Kee, UDOMRATN, Pichet, CHEE, Kok-Yoon, KREYENBUHL, Julie, SARTORIUS, Norman, SHINFUKU, Naotaka, UNGVARI, Gabor S, WANG, Chuan-Yue, SI, Tian-Mei, LEE, Edwin H. M, HE, Yan-Ling, CHIU, Helen F. K, YANG, Shu-Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-12-2012
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid precursor protein; Antipsychotic Agents - administration & dosage; Antipsychotic Agents - adverse effects; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology; Biological and medical sciences; Data collections; Data processing; Databases, Factual - trends; Demography; Female; Hospitalization - trends; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Neuroleptics; Neuropharmacology; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) - trends; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Polypharmacy; Psycholeptics: tranquillizer, neuroleptic; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Psychoses; Regression analysis; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - drug therapy; Schizophrenia - ethnology; Side effects; Territory; Human; Drug combination; Asiatic; Neuroleptic; Psychotropic; Pharmacotherapy; Schizophrenia; Ethnic group; Psychosis; Treatment; Polypharmacy; Antipsychotic; Combined treatment; Elderly
• ISSN: 0271-0749; 1533-712X
• DOI: 10.1097/JCP.0b013e3182726623

The aim of this study was to survey the use of antipsychotic polypharmacy (APP) in older Asian patients with schizophrenia and examine its demographic and clinical correlates.
Information on hospitalized patients with schizophrenia aged 55 or older was extracted from the database of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns study. Data on 1439 patients in 6 Asian countries and territories including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan were analyzed. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and antipsychotic prescriptions were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure.
The frequency of APP prescription was 51.6% in the pooled sample with wide intercountry variations. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the whole sample showed that patients on APP had higher antipsychotic doses and also were more likely to receive first-generation antipsychotics.
Use of APP was common in older Asian patients with schizophrenia. Given the limited evidence supporting its efficacy, the potentially severe side effects and high costs, APP should be used with caution in this population. The reasons for and outcomes of the use of APP in this patient population merit further exploration.