Disease Burden and Dynamics of Preventive Medication Use within the context of an Ageing Population

Due to the increased risk of chronic diseases among older people, population ageing will present significant challenges to the healthcare system. This doctoral thesis focusing on older adults: i) revealed a high burden of multimorbidity that substantially impacts health outcomes and costs; ii) demonstrated that while the prevalence of statin use has increased, incidence has declined; iii) showed low adherence and persistence to statins; and (iv) characterised the key predictors of nonadherence and discontinuation of statins. This body of research offers key insights into contemporary issues regarding disease burden and the utilisation of preventive medications among the older population.