Background: Polypharmacy especially in elderly is a challenging public health problem all over the world that leads to increased hospitalization, poor quality of life and represents an economic burden especially in developing countries like Egypt.
Objectives: To detect the prevalence of polypharmacy and factors associated with it among elderly persons.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted from August to December 2017, in Benha city, Qalubiya Governorate, Egypt. Study population aged 60 years and over. They were interviewed by the researcher using a standardized valid questionnaire.
Results: A total of 300 elderly persons were enrolled. Approximately 67%aged between 60 and 70 years,73.7%of them live with their families, and 51.7% of them had a monthly income more than 2000 LE,80% of them was non-smokers, and 85.3% of them reported using five or more medications. Logistic regression revealed that the significant predictors of polypharmacy use were sex (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR), 0.1; 95% CI 0.04-0.28, p