Medication

Questions about use of pharmaceuticals are important to monitor consumption of medicine over time since the cost of medication constitutes a significant part of the healthcare budget.

The improper use of medication by the elderly is a common problem and is costly both to the individual and society. For the individual, it is also a matter of practical issues, the risks of side-effects, etc.

In purely general terms, the use of medication has been shown to increase with age and men use diabetes and cholesterol medication to a greater extent than women, which is why it is important to monitor possible differences between different groups of the population (defined by such factors as gender, age, socioeconomic group or region/municipality).