Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34104401›Full record

ReviewTherapeutic advances in drug safety2021

Anticholinergic burden measures and older people's falls risk: a systematic prognostic review.

Carrie Stewart, Martin Taylor-Rowan, Roy L Soiza, Terence J Quinn, Yoon K Loke, Phyo Kyaw Myint

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
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

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Anticholinergic Medication Burden Scales: A Systematic Review.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
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  7. Mental health and kidney disease.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2026
    Review
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  11. A simulation study comparing anticholinergic drug use with polypharmacy for risk of death, dementia, and delirium in UK Biobank.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025
    Article
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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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Carrie StewartAgeing Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER) Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Rm 1.128, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill Health Campus, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-3380
Martin Taylor-RowanInstitute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Roy L SoizaAgeing Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER) Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1397-4272
Terence J QuinnInstitute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Yoon K LokeNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Phyo Kyaw MyintAgeing Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER) Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3852-6158
University of Aberdeen · GBUniversity of Glasgow · GBUniversity of East Anglia · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSeveral adverse outcomes have been associated with anticholinergic burden (ACB), and these risks increase with age. Several approaches to measuring this burden are available but, to date, no comparison of their prognostic abilities has been conducted. This PROSPERO-registered systematic review (CRD42019115918) compared the evidence behind ACB measures in relation to their ability to predict risk of falling in older people.

methodsMedline (OVID), EMBASE (OVID), CINAHL (EMBSCO) and PsycINFO (OVID) were searched using comprehensive search terms and a validated search filter for prognostic studies. Inclusion criteria included: participants aged 65 years and older, use of one or more ACB measure(s) as a prognostic factor, cohort or case-control in design, and reporting falls as an outcome. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool.

resultsEight studies reporting temporal associations between ACB and falls were included. All studies were rated high risk of bias in ⩾1 QUIPS tool categories, with five rated high risk ⩾3 categories. All studies (274,647 participants) showed some degree of association between anticholinergic score and increased risk of falls. Findings were most significant with moderate to high levels of ACB. Most studies (6/8) utilised the anticholinergic cognitive burden scale. No studies directly compared two or more ACB measures and there was variation in how falls were measured for analysis.

conclusionThe evidence supports an association between moderate to high ACB and risk of falling in older people, but no conclusion can be made regarding which ACB scale offers best prognostic value in older people. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY:

Indexed as

adverse outcomesanticholinergicsmeasurement scalesolder adultsprognostic study

Identifiers

PMID34104401
PMCPMC8170331
OpenAlexW3166579414

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.