Polypharmacy, commonly described as the use of five or more prescribed medications. It is a prevalent health issue among seniors because of the potential adverse side effects due to medication interactions.
A study conducted at Loma Linda University and reported in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine in October 2021, investigated the association between dietary patterns and number of medications used.
Data was taken on 328 participants, aged 60 years or older, collected through questionnaires and measurements at the Loma Linda University Drayson Center in Loma Linda, CA, between 2015 and 2016.
The number of pills taken versus several diet or health factors, such as BMI was tracked.
The authors suggest that “a vegan diet reduces the number of pills by 58% compared to non-vegetarian. Increases in age, body mass index (BMI), and presence of disease suggest an increased number of pills taken, but a vegan diet showed the lowest amount of pills in this sample. Body mass index also had a significant positive association with the number of pills”.