ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE：To analyze the research status and hotspot frontier of polypharmacy in the elderly in recent ten years ， and to provide reference for polypharmacy study in the elderly in China. METHODS ：The related literatures about polypharmacy in the elderly were retireved from Web of Science core database during Jan. 1st，2010-Dec. 31th，2019. CiteSpace 5.6.R5 software was used to analyze the quantity of pulished literatures ，authors，country/area，institution，co-citation of journals and literatures. The keywords were taken as nodes for co-occurrence analysis ，cluster analysis and Burst analysis ，the visual maps were drawn and the results were analyzed. RESULTS ：A total of 3 521 literatures were included ，and the quantity of published literatures about polypharmacy in the elderly was on the rise ；high-yield authors mainly were Bell JS and Hilmer SN which were the representative with 36 papers published ，accounting for 1.02％ of the total. America （929 literaturesm 26.3％）and University of Sydney （101 literatures，2.87％）were the most high-yield country and institution respectively ；Journal of the American Geriatrics Society was the journal with the most articles （2 202 pieces）. The most frequently cited literature was those published by Radcliff S team in 2015 to update Beers standard to reduce potential inappropriate drug use ；the research on how to optimize the prescription for the elderly published by Spinewine A team in 2007 had the highest co-citation centrality. The hot keywords were elderly ，polypharmacy and risk factor ；keywords with high centrality included quality of life ，polypharmacy and Beers standard. Research hotspots included risk factor ，outcome index and reduction strategy for polypharmacy. Six clusters were formed ，including Breast cancer ， Prescription，Disorder，Schizophrenia，Mediation attachment and Trial ；complications，pain，frailty，health-related quality ， intellectual disability were at the forefront of research. CONCLUSIONS ：In the past 10 years，the research on polypharmacy in the elderly has been paid more and more attention by scholars ；the United States and Australia have made great contributions in this field；the research mainly focused on the impact of polypharmacy on health outcomes and the strategies for reduce polypharmacy. In the future ，more attention will be paid to the related research on psychological ，cognitive and debilitating effects of polypharmacy in the elderly.