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A new study suggests senior women are more likely than men of the same age to be prescribed medication they don’t need.

University of B.C. researchers say nearly one in three women in this province over age 65 received inappropriate prescription medicines in 2013, compared to one in four men, who received similar prescriptions.

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The study, published in medical journal Age and Ageing, looked at 60,679 B.C. residents aged 65 and older in 2013.The study found 31 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men filled one or more potentially inappropriate prescriptions.

Female participants in the study were more likely to be over age 85 and reside in a long-term care facility, fill prescriptions for five or more different types of drugs, and have low income.

One of the explanations as to why women are more likely to be overprescribed inappropriate medications is because they are living longer and have multiple health issues in their 80s, said lead researcher Steve Morgan, a professor at UBC’s school of population and public health.