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Anticholinergic drugs linked to mental impairment in elderly people
February 01, 2006Non-degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people and use of anticholinergic drugs: Longitudinal cohort study BMJ Online First
Anticholinergic drugs may lead to mild cognitive (mental) impairment in elderly people, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.
These drugs are commonly used in elderly patients to treat illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, urinary incontinence, and Parkinson's disease, so it is important that doctors are aware of this effect, say the researchers.
They interviewed 372 elderly people without dementia about current and past illnesses and drug use. Cognitive performance was assessed and participants were monitored for up to eight years.
About 10% of the people in the sample took anticholinergic drugs over an extended period. Drug users showed poorer cognitive performance compared with non-users and 80% met the criteria for mild cognitive impairment compared with 35% of non-users. However, drug users were not at increased risk of developing dementia.
Even after taking account of other known risk factors for cognitive impairment, anticholinergic drugs remained the most highly significant predictor of this condition, say the authors.
Given the aim of identifying mild cognitive impairment is the early treatment of dementia, people with mild cognitive impairment due to anticholinergic drugs could be in the absurd situation of receiving pro-cholinergic drugs to counteract the effects of anticholinergic agents, say the authors.
They suggest doctors assess current use of anticholinergic drugs in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment before considering treatment for dementia.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
They interviewed 372 elderly people without dementia about current and past illnesses and drug use. Cognitive performance was assessed and participants were monitored for up to eight years.
About 10% of the people in the sample took anticholinergic drugs over an extended period. Drug users showed poorer cognitive performance compared with non-users and 80% met the criteria for mild cognitive impairment compared with 35% of non-users. However, drug users were not at increased risk of developing dementia.
Even after taking account of other known risk factors for cognitive impairment, anticholinergic drugs remained the most highly significant predictor of this condition, say the authors.
Given the aim of identifying mild cognitive impairment is the early treatment of dementia, people with mild cognitive impairment due to anticholinergic drugs could be in the absurd situation of receiving pro-cholinergic drugs to counteract the effects of anticholinergic agents, say the authors.
They suggest doctors assess current use of anticholinergic drugs in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment before considering treatment for dementia.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Commonly used medications associated with impaired physical function in older adults
Older adults who take drugs designed to block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine - including common medications for incontinence, high blood pressure and allergies - are more likely to be dependent in one or more activities of daily living and to walk slower, according to new findings from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.
More Anticholinergic Drugs News Articles
| Symposium on Anticholinergic Drugs and Brain Functions in Animals and Man, Washington, D.C. 1966 (Progress in brain research) | |
| Studies on central and peripheral effects of anticholinergic drugs (FOA reports, v. 4, no. 4) by Lennart Albanus | |
| Cognitive side effects of anticholinergics.(EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE): An article from: Clinical Psychiatry News by Jan Leard-Hansson, Laurence Guttmacher This digital document is an article from Clinical Psychiatry News, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2005. The length of the article is 842 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle:... | |
| Anticholinergic Drugs and Brain Functions in Animals and Man. | |
| Anticholinergic drugs and brain functions in animals and man: (proceedings of the 6th Symposium on Anti-cholinergic Drugs and Brain Functions in Animals ... 1966) (Progress in brain research, vol.28) | |
| Anticholinergic Drugs and Brain Functions in Animals and Man. by P.B. Bradley | |
| Panel backs once-daily anticholinergic for COPD. (Dyspnea Claim Rejected).(tiotropium bromide inhalation powder for the treatment of chronic obstructive ... An article from: Family Practice News by Elizabeth Mechcatie This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on October 15, 2002. The length of the article is 739 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation... |
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