Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB)

INTRODUCTION: The simplistic definition of polypharmacy, often designated as the concomitant use of five medications or more, does not distinguish appropriate from inappropriate polypharmacy. Classifying polypharmacy according to varying levels of health risk would help optimise medication use. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to characterise different types of polypharmacy among older adults and evaluate their association with mortality and institutionalisation. METHODS: Using healthcare databases from the Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System, we selected a community-based random sample of the population ≥ 66 years old covered by the public drug plan...

PURPOSE: Anticholinergic (AC) drugs are associated with various determinantal outcomes. Data regarding the effect of AC drugs on mortality among geriatric hip fracture patients are limited and inconsistent. METHODS: Using Danish health registries, we identified 31,443 patients aged ≥65 years undergoing hip fracture surgery. AC burden was assessed 90 days before surgery by the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) score and number of AC drugs. Logistic and Cox regression producing odds ratios (OR) and hazard ratios (HR) for 30- and 365- day mortality, adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities were computed...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies involving uric acid (UA) in some specialized disease populations have found that high UA is associated with enhanced patient function. The mechanism to explain this association may be that UA, an important antioxidant, exerts neuroprotective effects. Patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) have severe oxidative stress abnormalities, and cognitive impairment is a major obstacle to their rehabilitation. Only few studies have been conducted on UA and cognitive impairment in SCZ...

OBJECTIVES: The use of anticholinergic drugs in the elderly may lead to negative events such as falls, delirium, urinary retention and cognitive decline, and the higher the number of anticholinergic drugs use, the more such negative events occur. This study aims to analyze the risk factors associated with the prescription of total anticholinergic drugs in elderly outpatients and evaluate the rationality of anticholinergic drugs, and to provide a reference for reducing the adverse effects of anticholinergic drugs...

BACKGROUND: Many older adults take at least one prescription medication with anticholinergic (ACH) activity, which can impact the central nervous system and can lead to cognitive decline and impairment especially in an aging population susceptible to cognitive changes. We examined this relationship between ACH burden and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults. We further determined if increased activity levels mitigated the relationships between ACH burden and cognition. METHODS: Data from The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke project were used...

PURPOSE: Anticholinergic drugs are widely prescribed for many medical conditions. However, data on the association of anticholinergic burden with dry eye disease (DED) are limited. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between anticholinergic burden and DED. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated a total of 120 participants who underwent ophthalmological examination between February 2021 and February 2022. The drugs used by the patients in the last 2 months were recorded from the institute's electronic data system...

CONTEXT: Children with severe neurological impairment and polypharmacy are exposed to anticholinergic (AC) medications that may have anticholinergic side effects, but this is understudied. Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scores measure total anticholinergic burden for a medication regimen, and scores ≥3 have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in adults. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the relationship between ACB scores and parent-reported anticholinergic symptoms in children...

PURPOSE: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are associated with falls, hospitalization, and cognitive decline. Few studies have investigated the association between PIMs related to cognitive impairment (PIMCog) and mortality in dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study. Patients diagnosed with MCI or dementia (DSM-IV criteria) presenting to a tertiary-referral memory clinic from 2013 to 2019 were eligible...

INTRODUCTION: Anticholinergic burden may be an important risk factor for the cognitive impairment. Especially in polypharmacy, even drugs with low anticholinergic effects may contribute to a significant anticholinergic burden. The drugs with anticholinergic effects are used in treatment of motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Therefore, it is important to screen for polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden in PD patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 58 patients with PD...

Introduction: Anticholinergic medications which are commonly prescribed to older adults can produce more pronounced adverse effects compared to the younger population. Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of polypharmacy, describe the prescription patterns of anticholinergic medications, determine the prevalence of exposure to high-risk anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) medications, and identify the potential predictors of exposure to high-risk ACB medications in older adults in a Nigerian secondary hospital...

BACKGROUND: Medications with anticholinergic properties are commonly prescribed to older adults with a pre-existing diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment. The cumulative anticholinergic effect of all the medications a person takes is referred to as the anticholinergic burden because of its potential to cause adverse effects. It is possible that a high anticholinergic burden may be a risk factor for further cognitive decline or neuropsychiatric disturbances in people with dementia...

AIMS: While certain drug-use indicators are known to be associated with clinical outcomes, the relationship is unclear for some highly prevalent conditions in in patients aged ≥65 years. We examine correlations between 3 drug-use indicators and postdischarge healthcare services use by older patients according to the presence of dementia, advanced age and frailty. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analysed data collected from hospital electronic health records between April and December 2017...

Introduction: Prescribing cascade refers to use of a medication to treat a drug-related adverse event. Prescribing cascades increase medication use, cost, and risk of adverse events. Objective: Our objective was to use administrative health data to identify whether use of medications from the anticholinergic cognitive burden scale was associated with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescribing consistent with a prescribing cascade in older adults with dementia. Method: The cohort was comprised of Nova Scotia Seniors' Pharmacare beneficiaries identified to have dementia and medication dispensation data recorded between 1 April 2010, or cohort entry and 31 March 2015...

OBJECTIVES: Using multiple drugs with anticholinergic properties is common and might lead to cumulative anticholinergic toxicity and increased risk of cognitive impairment. Therefore, we sought to investigate the association between the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) Scale and cognitive performance among middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study with 13,065 participants from the baseline visit of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), mean age was 51...

Deprescribing may be particularly beneficial in patients with medical complexity and suspected cognitive impairment (CI). We describe central nervous system (CNS) medication use and side effects in this population and explore the relationship between anticholinergic burden and sleep. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a pilot randomized-controlled trial in older adult veterans with medical complexity (Care Assessment Need score > 90), and suspected CI (Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status score 20-31)...

BACKGROUND: Poor oral health is known to be associated with frailty in geriatric populations. Recent exposure to anticholinergic medications is responsible for features of poor oral health. Anticholinergic medications pose a cumulative risk for frailty. METHODS: We studied 115 geriatric inpatients (aged >65 years and recruited over a 3-month period from October to December 2017). Patients who were severely agitated, cognitively impaired, from a non-English speaking background and with severe sensory impairment were excluded...

Purpose: In-hospital falls, especially among older patients, are a major and underestimated problem. Several studies have suggested a possible association between anticholinergic drug use and falls, but the results are inconclusive and studies focusing on in-hospital falls are scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether anticholinergic drug exposure on admission is associated with in-hospital falls. Patients and Methods: This retrospective chart review study was conducted in the Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands...

BACKGROUND: Higher medication anticholinergic burden is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. A mechanistic pathway has not been established. We aimed to determine whether inflammation may mediate these associations. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer, Norfolk cohort (40-79 years at baseline). Anticholinergic burden score (ACB) was calculated at first (1HC) (1993/97) and second (2HC) (1998/2000) health checks...

BACKGROUND: Older patients with schizophrenia have an elevated risk of dementia; enhancing their cognitive function holds promise for delaying dementia in this population. Cognitive deficits strongly predict function in schizophrenia. Anticholinergic medication burden (ACB) compounds age-related cognitive declines in late-life schizophrenia (LLS). Cognitive remediation (CR) improves cognition in schizophrenia, however literature in LLS is sparse. This study examined the effect of CR on cognitive performance in participants with LLS...

OBJECTIVE: While clozapine is recognized as the most effective antipsychotic for individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, its effects on neurocognition remain unclear. This study aimed to compare the neurocognitive effects of clozapine treatment to those of non-clozapine antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia and to examine the role of anticholinergic burden on cognitive impairments. DESIGN: This was a naturalistic study. Cross-sectional data were drawn from participants with chronic schizophrenia in two clinical trials assessing cognition...