ReviewTherapeutic advances in drug safety2016
Anticholinergic medication use and dementia: latest evidence and clinical implications.
Review in Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Concurrent Use of Anticholinergic and Antidementia Medicines in Older Adults with Dementia: A Systematic Review of Prevalence, Predictors and Clinical Outcomes.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Increased risk of incident dementia following use of anticholinergic agents: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.Neurourology and urodynamics · 2021Pooled it
- Medication changes and potentially inappropriate prescribing in older patients with significant polypharmacy.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2023Trial
- Recent advances in postoperative delirium in elderly patients: pathophysiological mechanisms, risk prediction, and therapeutic strategies.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Venlafaxine and Delirium: Understanding the Association.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Pharmacotherapy for overactive bladder syndrome and the risk of incident dementia.World journal of urology · 2025Article
- Risk factors and outcomes of hyperactive delirium in older medical inpatients admitted to non-intensive care unit: a prospective cohort study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Observational
- Perioperative Anticholinergic Medication Use and Incident Dementia among Older Surgical Patients: a Retrospective Cohort Study using Real-World Data.Drugs & aging · 2025Article
- Pharmacist-Driven Deprescribing to Reduce Anticholinergic Burden in Veterans With Dementia.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2024Article
- Application of nano- and micro-particle-based approaches for selected bronchodilators in management of asthma.3 Biotech · 2024Review
- Sarcopenia and diabetes-induced dementia risk.Brain communications · 2024Article
- Association Between Regular Laxative Use and Incident Dementia in UK Biobank Participants.Neurology · 2023Article
- Anti-cholinergic drug burden in patients with dementia increases after hospital admission: a multicentre cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Anticholinergic burden and cognitive performance: cross-sectional results from the ELSA-Brasil study.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2022Article
- Incidence of Drug-Induced Delirium During Treatment With Antidepressants or Antipsychotics: A Drug Surveillance Report of German-Speaking Countries Between 1993 and 2016.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Observational
- Benzodiazepine use and the risk of dementia.Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.) · 2022Article
- The treatment of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction in persons with spinal cord injury: An open label, pilot study of anticholinergic agent vs. mirabegron to evaluate cognitive impact and efficacy.Spinal cord series and cases · 2021Article
- Decrease of Anticholinergic Drug Use in Nursing Home Residents in the United States, 2009 to 2017.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2020Article
- Association of anticholinergic medications and AD biomarkers with incidence of MCI among cognitively normal older adults.Neurology · 2020Article
- Increasing prevalence of anticholinergic medication use in older people in England over 20 years: cognitive function and ageing study I and II.BMC geriatrics · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Use of medications with anticholinergic activity is widespread in older adults. Several studies have highlighted that anticholinergic use may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. The objective of this narrative review is to describe and evaluate studies of anticholinergic medication use and dementia and provide practical suggestions for avoiding use of these medications in older adults. A comprehensive review of the literature, citations from recent reviews and the author's personal files was conducted. Four studies were found that evaluated anticholinergic use and dementia as the primary outcome. Three studies focused on overall anticholinergic medication use and reported a statistically significantly increased risk of Alzheimer's disease or dementia. In one study, dementia risk was primarily found with higher cumulative doses; people using anticholinergic medications at the minimum effective dose recommended for older adults for at least 3 years were at highest risk. In contrast, a study conducted in nursing-home residents with depression did not find that paroxetine [a highly anticholinergic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant, (SSRI)] increased risk for dementia compared with other SSRIs (without anticholinergic activity). Further study is needed to understand the mechanism by which anticholinergic medications may increase risk. In conclusion, there is evidence from three observational studies suggesting that anticholinergic medications may increase dementia risk. Given this potential risk and the myriad of other well-known adverse effects (i.e. constipation, blurred vision, urinary retention, and delirium) associated with anticholinergic medications, it is prudent for prescribers and older adults to minimize use of these medications and consider alternatives when possible.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.