Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Senior Citizens Show Cognitive Decline Taking Common
Anticholinergic Medications
Chronic use may hamper memory in elderly and the
ability to perform daily living tasks
Jan. 28, 2009 - Anticholinergic medications, a type
of drug used to treat a variety of disorders that include respiratory
and gastrointestinal problems, appear to be associated with cognitive
decline in senior citizens. The detrimental effects seem to hamper the
seniors’ ability to do simple tasks, like shopping and managing personal
finances.
A new study examined the effects of exposure to
anticholinergic medications on over 500 relatively healthy men aged 65
years or older with high blood pressure.
Older people often take several drugs to treat
multiple health conditions, the researchers noted. As some of these
drugs may also have properties that affect neurotransmitters in the brain
that are important to overall brain function, the researchers examined
the total effects of all medications taken by the patients, both
prescription and over-the-counter, that were believed to affect the
function of a particular neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.
The findings show that chronic use of medications
with anticholinergic properties may have detrimental effects on memory
and the ability to perform daily living tasks, such as shopping and
managing finances.
Participants showed deficits in both memory and
daily function when they took these medications over the course of a
year.
The degree of memory difficulty and impairment in daily living
tasks also increased proportionally to the total amount of drug
exposure, based on a rating scale the authors developed to assess anticholinergicity of the drugs.
According to study co-author Dr. Ling Han of the
Yale University Department of Internal Medicine, elderly patients may be
more vulnerable to these types of medications due to neurological and
pharmacokinetic (bodily absorption,
distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs)
changes related to aging.
“This study extends our previous findings on acute
cognitive impairment following recent anticholinergic exposure in older
medical inpatients,” says Han. “Prescribing for older adults who take
multiple prescription and over-the-counter medications requires careful
attention to minimize the risk of potential harms of the drugs while
maximizing their health benefits.”
The study, “Anticholinergic Exposure Is Associated
with Poor Memory and Executive Function in Older Men,” is published in
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Use of Anticholinergic Drugs
Anticholinergic drugs are used in treating such
conditions as the following:
• Gastrointestinal disorders (gastritis,
pylorospasm, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis)
• Genitourinary disorders (cystitis, urethritis,
prostatitis)
• Respiratory disorders (asthma, chronic
bronchitis)
• Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson-like adverse
medication effects
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