Potentially inappropriate prescribing in older adults in Mexico.

OBJECTIVE:To identify and quantify potentially inappropriate prescribing (prescripción potencialmente inapropiada, PPI) and other drug prescribing problems in public health care services in a population-based study at the three existing levels of complexity in Mexico. METHODS:Descriptive analysis of the Study on Satisfaction of Users of the Social Protection System in Health 2014-2016, prescription and drug supply section, to obtain the prevalence of PPI in older adults (≥ 65 years), based on Beers, STOPP, Prescrire and BSP listings using AM (older adults) prescription indicators, one for each listing. RESULTS:Most older adults (67%) were prescribed at least one medication, with a mean of 2.7 medications per prescription. The PPI prevalence was 74% according to the BSP criteria, 67% according to the STOPP listing, 59% with the Beer criteria, and 20% with Prescrire. The most frequent PPI prescriptions were NSAIDs, vasodilators and sulfonylureas. CONCLUSIONS:The use of PPIs in AM is high in Mexico. The higher prevalence found in this study may reflect the use of a source with population representativeness. The partial use and adaptations of the criteria make difficult comparing the studies; however, the STOPP criteria are the ones with the highest prevalence, as they cover a greater number of drugs and their use is more common in the first level of care.