Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and omissions of medicines among older adults are increasingly popular with the aging population in China.

PIMs and omissions of medicines among older adults in the community were assessed via three distinct evaluation criteria, thus providing a basis for standardizing medication management in the elderly.

From April 2021 to June 2021, older adults in the 12 communities were selected from streets or villages in Wuhan, Yichang, Qianjiang and Zhijiang City of Hubei Province (3 streets/villages from each city by cluster sampling). PIMs and omissions of medicines among older adults were evaluated by the 2023 American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria, the 2014 STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions)/START (Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment) Criteria, and the 2017 Chinese PIM Criteria for Older Adults.

A total of 1011 eligible older adults in the community were enrolled, including 420 (43.08 %) male and 591 (57.92 %) female patients. Significant differences were detected in the number of medications across subgroups based on the sex, age, and chronic diseases (P < 0.05). Evaluated by the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria, there were 294 (29.08 %) cases of PIMs. A total of 189 (18.69 %) cases of PIMs and 229 omissions of medicines were identified by the 2014 STOPP/START Criteria. Using the 2017 Chinese PIM Criteria for Older Adults, 296 (29.28 %) cases of PIMs were screened out. Nifedipine immediate release (IR), and nifedipine were the most frequently detected drugs of PIMs by the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria, and the 2017 Chinese PIM Criteria for Older Adults, respectively. Evaluated by the 2014 STOPP/START Criteria, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were the leading type of PIMs, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients without metformin treatment was the top one item of omitted medicine.

PIMs and omissions of medicines among older adults in the community in Hubei Province should be highly concerned, which can be effectively identified via a combination of three evaluation criteria.