| Abstract [eng] |
Objective: Both polypharmacy and sarcopenia are common in the elderly population and are linked to poor health outcomes such as frailty, increased morbidity and functional decline. Despite the fact that these conditions often coexist, their relationship is not fully clear. Aim: This literature review aims to examine the association between polypharmacy and sarcopenia in older adults by reviewing findings from current studies published. Design: Literature Review Methods: Searches were conducted in PubMed using database specific search terms including “sarcopenia”, “polypharmacy”, “older adults,” “muscle strength,” “muscle mass,” “multimorbidity,” and related keywords. Results were filtered to only include human studies, English-language publications and studies published between 2015 and 2025. To find additional studies, manual searches of guideline websites were also done. Results: The review includes thirteen observational studies. The findings reveal higher medication burden was linked to worse muscle-related outcomes and a higher prevalence of sarcopenia in many cross-sectional studies, especially in hospitalized or disease specific groups. This correlation was not found in every study when factors such as multimorbidity, nutrition and functional impairment were taken into consideration. Sarcopenia was not reliably predicted by polypharmacy alone but higher correlations were found when medication quality, including possibly inappropriate pharmaceuticals and anticholinergic drugs, were taken into account. Because of variations in diagnostic criteria, the reported prevalence of sarcopenia differed between studies. Conclusion: The results suggest that while the association seems to be complicated and influenced by medication quality, underlying illness and diagnostic variation, polypharmacy is often associated with sarcopenia and worsening muscle-related outcomes in older people. When identifying older adults at risk for sarcopenia, assessment of medication type and burden may be crucial. To better understand the mechanisms that cause this and support clinical decision making, more prospective studies using consistent definitions are needed. |
