Potentially inappropriate medications in geriatric blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) survivors: A BMT Survivor Study report

Sebastian Sanchez-Luege, Wendy Landier, Chen Dai, Lindsey Hageman, Elizabeth S. Ross, Nora A. Balas, Alysia Bosworth, Hok Sreng Te, Jessica Wu, Liton Francisco, F. Lennie Wong, Stephen J. Forman, Saro H. Armenian, Daniel J. Weisdorf, Smita Bhatia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) is increasingly offered to older individuals with hematologic malignancies. The high prevalence of chronic health conditions in such individuals necessitates use of multiple medications. Beers Criteria represent a list of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) shown to increase the risk of health problems in the elderly. We sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of PIM use in older BMT survivors and identify associations with health problems. Methods: Study participants were drawn from the BMT Survivor Study, a cohort study of patients transplanted at three US transplant centers between 1974 and 2014 and surviving ≥2 years. For this report, the survivors were aged ≥65 years. Siblings served as a comparison group. Participants self-reported sociodemographics, chronic health conditions, and medication use. Logistic regression analyses identified predictors of PIM use and associations with health problems. Results: Overall, PIM use was comparable between BMT survivors (49.4%) and siblings (49.3%) (odds ratio [OR] = 0.9; 95% CI, 0.7–1.2); however, BMT survivors were more likely to use >1 PIM (17.4% vs. 12.4%; OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.01–2.4) and central nervous system–related PIMs (8.3% vs. 4.3%; OR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.17–4.09). Predictors of PIM use included presence of severe/life-threatening chronic health conditions (OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1–2.0), and chronic graft versus host disease (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.7). Survivors taking >1 PIM reported more issues with vertigo (OR = 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1–4.7), balance (OR = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.7–4.1), faintness/dizziness (OR = 2.8; 95% CI, 1.8–4.6), and personal care (OR = 4.5; 95% CI, 1.4–14.8). Conclusions: This study shows the health problems associated with PIM use and identifies vulnerable populations at higher risk for PIM use, providing evidence for caution in using PIMs in high-risk populations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)473-482
Number of pages10
JournalCancer
Volume129
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Cancer Society.

Keywords

  • blood or marrow transplantation
  • health problems
  • older BMT survivors
  • potentially inappropriate medications
  • survivorship

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