ArticleJournal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry2018
Anticholinergic drug use and cognitive performances in middle age: findings from the CONSTANCES cohort.
Article in Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Anticholinergic Medication Burden Scales: A Systematic Review.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Pooled it
- Barriers and facilitators to reducing anticholinergic burden: a qualitative systematic review.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2021Pooled it
- Quality of anticholinergic burden scales and their impact on clinical outcomes: a systematic review.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- The effects of anticholinergic medications on cognition in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Minor salivary flow as a diagnostic tool for screening hyposalivation in Medication-Induced Xerostomia.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Pharmacogenetic associations ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Polypharmacy, drug-drug interactions, anticholinergic burden and cognitive outcomes: a snapshot from a community-dwelling sample of older men and women in northern Italy.European journal of ageing · 2024Article
- Health-related quality of life and use of medication with anticholinergic activity in patients with multiple myeloma.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Article
- Anticholinergic Medication and Caries Status Predict Xerostomia under 65.Dentistry journal · 2023Article
- Anticholinergic action is rarely a good thing.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2023Review
- Anticholinergic medication and dental caries status in middle-aged xerostomia patients-a retrospective study.Journal of dental sciences · 2022Article
- Influence of Drugs on Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease: Evidence from the PACOS Study.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Article
- Anticholinergic Drug Burden and Neurocognitive Performance in the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2022Article
- Effects of chronic tramadol administration on cognitive flexibility in mice.Psychopharmacology · 2021Article
- Anticholinergic Activity of Psychotropic Drugs and Cognitive Impairment Among Participants Aged 45 and Over: The CONSTANCES Study.Drug safety · 2021Article
- The cognitive effects of anticholinergic drugs on apolipoprotein ε4 carriers and noncarriers in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention study.Neuropsychology · 2021Article
- The Effect of Cumulative Anticholinergic Use on the Cognitive Function of Older Adults: Results from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2020Article
- Adverse Effects of Anticholinergic Drugs on Cognition and Mobility: Cutoff for Impairment in a Cross-Sectional Study in Young-Old and Old-Old Adults.Drugs & aging · 2020Article
- Anticholinergic Drugs in Geriatric Psychopharmacology.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies have shown associations between the use of anticholinergics (AC) and cognitive performance in the elderly, considering AC as a homogeneous set of drugs. The present study aims to assess the relationship between exposure to AC drugs and cognitive performance in middle-aged adults according to AC potency and drug class.
methodsOur cross-sectional study used baseline data of 34 267 participants aged 45-70 from the Consultants des centres d'examen de santé de la sécurité sociale (CONSTANCES) cohort. The cumulative exposure to AC was measured using national reimbursement databases over the 3-year period preceding assessment of cognitive performance. Eight classes of AC drugs were differentiated. Episodic verbal memory, language abilities and executive functions were evaluated by validated neuropsychological tests. Analyses were controlled on lifestyle and health status variables.
resultsThis study showed a negative association between overall cumulative AC exposure and cognitive performances after adjustment. The use of drugs with possible AC effect according to the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale (ACB-1 score) was only associated with executive functions. Analyses of AC exposure across drug classes showed a negative association between the use of AC antipsychotics and all cognitive functions assessed. Heterogeneous associations were found for the use of AC anxiolytics, AC opioids and AC drugs targeting the gastrointestinal tract or metabolism. We did not find significant associations between the use of antihistamines, antidepressants, cardiovascular system or other AC medications and cognitive function.
conclusionAssociation between AC drugs and cognitive performance was highly heterogeneous across drug classes; this heterogeneity will have to be considered by future studies.
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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.