Dementia risk in elder people could be increased by some commonly prescribed drugs
Posted on: 26/Jun/2019 10:16:52 AM
Doctors prescribe many common drugs to the patients suffering from variety of conditions like gastrointestinal disorders, urinary bladder conditions etc. It is now revealed that these common drugs could increase the risk of dementia in the elder people.
Research was conducted by the University of Nottingham, UK. Information collected is the researchers looked at the medical records of 58, 769 patients with diagnosis of dementia and 225,574 patients without diagnosis of dementia. It must be noted that the people were above the age of 55. Anti-cholinergic medication was used by these patients every day for a time of 3 years and more.
It is known that anti-cholinergic drugs are those that help in the contraction and relaxation of the muscles. Many conditions like gastrointestinal disorders, bladder conditions, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease etc are treated by using these drugs prescribed by the doctors. It was found that out of 58,769 patients with dementia 63 percent were females and the average age of the patients was 82. The research studies were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
As per Carol Coupland, professor at the University of Nottingham, it is clear that the anti-cholinergic drugs must be prescribed with caution for the middle aged as well as for the elder people. He then spoke about how the doctors must consider the risk that is associated with the prescription of anti-cholinergic drugs along with the benefits. He threw light about the alternative treatments that must be considered wherever possible. Other types of antidepressants and alternative types of treatment for bladder conditions should be done and this was suggested by Carol Coupland.
Carrying out regular medication reviews is very important and these findings showcase the importance of regular medication reviews. This was according to Carol Coupland. The researchers spoke about how the study was observational and how no firm conclusions could be drawn whether anti-cholinergic drugs could lead to dementia or not.
According to the researchers, it is possible that drugs were prescribed for very early symptom of dementia. It is worthy to mention that in the one to eleven years before the dementia diagnosis date or equivalent in controls, nearly 57% of the cases and 51% of controls were prescribed atleast one strong anti-cholinergic drug. Important point is average of 6 prescriptions in cases and 4 in controls.
It is brought out that the most frequently prescribed drugs were the antidepressants, anti-vertigo and bladder anti-muscarinic drugs (drugs to treat overactive bladder).
