BACKGROUND: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is common in the older population. Inappropriate medications as well as polypharmacy expose older people to a greater risk of adverse drug reactions and may result in hospitalizations.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of PIMs among acutely hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years in an acute medical unit, and to investigate the relationship between use of PIMs and weakness.

SETTING: This longitudinal observational study was undertaken in the Acute Medical Unit, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

METHOD: Patients aged ≥65 years admitted to the acute medical unit during the period October to December 2011 were included. Patients were interviewed at admission and at a follow-up visit 30 days after discharge. Data included information about medications, social status, functional status, cognitive status, handgrip strength, health-related quality of life, visual acuity, days of hospitalization, and comorbidities, and was prospectively collected. Polypharmacy was defined as regular use of 5 or more drugs. The Charlson Comorbidity Index was used to categorize comorbidities.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The prevalence of PIMs and the association with PIMs and functional status handgrip strength, HRQOL, comorbidities, social demographic data and vision.

RESULTS: Seventy-one patients (55 % men) with a median age of 78.7 years participated. The median number of medications was eight per person. Eighty percent were exposed to polypharmacy. PIMs were used by 85 % of patients, and PIMs were associated with low functional status (p = 0.032), low handgrip strength (p = 0.006), and reduced health-related quality of life (p = 0.005), but not comorbidities (p = 0.63), age (p = 0.60), sex (p = 0.53), education (p = 0.94), cognition (p = 0.10), pain (p = 0.46), or visual acuity (p = 0.55).

CONCLUSIONS: Use of PIMs was very common among older people admitted to an acute medical unit. The use of PIMs is associated with low functional status, low handgrip strength, and reduced health-related quality of life.