Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33420226›Full record

SynthesisScientific reports2021

The effects of anticholinergic medications on cognition in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Erica Ghezzi, Michelle Chan, Lisa M Kalisch Ellett, Tyler J Ross, Kathryn Richardson, Jun Ni Ho, Dayna Copley, Claire Steele, Hannah A D Keage

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Erica Ghezzi *Justice and Society, University of South Australia, GPO BOX 2741, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Michelle Chan *Justice and Society, University of South Australia, GPO BOX 2741, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Lisa M Kalisch EllettClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Tyler J RossJustice and Society, University of South Australia, GPO BOX 2741, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Kathryn RichardsonNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Jun Ni HoClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Dayna CopleyJustice and Society, University of South Australia, GPO BOX 2741, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Claire SteeleJustice and Society, University of South Australia, GPO BOX 2741, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Hannah A D KeageJustice and Society, University of South Australia, GPO BOX 2741, Adelaide, 5000, Australia. Hannah.Keage@unisa.edu.au.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive side effects of anticholinergic medications in older adults are well documented. Whether these poor cognitive outcomes are observed in children has not been systematically investigated. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the associations between anticholinergic medication use and cognitive performance in children. Systematic review was conducted using Medline, PsychInfo, and Embase, identifying studies testing cognitive performance relative to the presence versus absence of anticholinergic medication(s) in children. We assessed effects overall, as well as relative to drug class, potency (low and high), cognitive domain, and duration of administration. The systematic search identified 46 articles suitable for meta-analysis. For the most part, random effects meta-analyses did not identify statistically significant associations between anticholinergic exposure and cognitive performance in children; the one exception was a small effect of anticholinergic anti-depressants being associated with better cognitive function (Hedges' g = 0.24, 95% CI 0.06-0.42, p = 0.01). Anticholinergic medications do not appear to be associated with poor cognitive outcomes in children, as they do in older adults. The discrepancy in findings with older adults may be due to shorter durations of exposure in children, differences in study design (predominantly experimental studies in children rather than predominantly epidemiological in older adults), biological ageing (e.g. blood brain barrier integrity), along with less residual confounding due to minimal polypharmacy and comorbidity in children.

Indexed as

ChildCholinergic AntagonistsCognitionHumansCholinergic Antagonists

Identifiers

PMID33420226
PMCPMC7794471

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.