Polypharmacy, Unintended Consequences, and Impact of Lifestyle Medicine

Abstract

The coexistence of more than one chronic condition is called multimorbidity. Polypharmacy is defined as the use of multiple medicines with the typical definition stating 5 or more medications. There are several risk factors associated with polypharmacy and it may occur due to many reasons. Polypharmacy has been associated with multiple negative outcomes including nonadherence to treatment, side effects, drug-drug or disease interactions, falls, fractures, impairments—physical and cognitive, and medical errors. Strategies to assess and address polypharmacy are necessary, and lifestyle medicine is shown to play a role in improving health outcomes even when polypharmacy exists.