ArticleBMC geriatrics2025
Polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden scales in older adults: a cross-sectional study among psychiatric outpatients in a tertiary care hospital.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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9 citing papers in PubMed.
- The role of gut microbiome in aging-associated diseases: where do we stand now and how technology will transform the future.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Association of potentially inappropriate prescribing with drug-drug interactions and medication regimen complexity in geriatric patients: a cross-sectional analytical study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Observational
- Anticholinergic Burden in Elderly People in Nursing Homes: Cross-Sectional Assessment Using ACB Calculator and CRIDECO Anticholinergic Load Scale.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Anticholinergic Burden at Admission and Discharge Among Geriatric Inpatients: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.International journal of general medicine · 2026Article
- Anticholinergic burden and its predictors among patients with schizophrenia in Northwest Ethiopia: An institutional-based cross sectional study.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Psychiatric polypharmacy in adult patients at the only referral psychiatric institute in Botswana: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Reducing Anticholinergic Burden in Hospitalised Older Adults: Analysis From the INFAR Study.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Pharmacist-led deprescribing to improve medication safety in older patients with hip fractures.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Exploring Anticholinergic Burden in a Psychiatric Inpatient Population.Innovations in clinical neuroscienceArticle
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Abstract
introductionMental disorders are prevalent among older adults, often leading to the use of multiple medications, many with anticholinergic properties. Polypharmacy, common in this population, is a major contributor to anticholinergic burden, which is linked to cognitive and physical decline. This study investigates the relationship between polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden across seven anticholinergic burden scales in elderly patients attending the psychiatric outpatient.
methodsStudy was conducted at a psychiatry outpatient clinic at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, India, from December 2021 to March 2023. Elderly patients (aged ≥ 60 years) who were on at least one psychotropic medication and had a primary working diagnosis of psychiatric illness were included. All psychotropic medications, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and hypnotics, were evaluated. Anticholinergic burden scales were calculated by the respective tools. Univariate analysis was adopted to determine the factors that may affect polypharmacy.
resultsStudy included 1165 elderly patients aged ≥ 60 years. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 20.43% (n = 238). Clonazepam (n = 364, 17.28%), escitalopram (n = 197, 9.35%), metformin (n = 165, 7.83%), sertraline (n = 141, 6.69%), mirtazapine (n = 129, 6.12%), and lorazepam (n = 110, 5.22%) were among the most frequently prescribed anticholinergic drugs. Univariate analysis demonstrated that all anticholinergic risk assessment scales were closely correlated with polypharmacy, with the strongest association observed for the Anticholinergic Load Scale (ALS) (Odds Ratio = 4.3; p < 0.001). Polypharmacy was also positively associated with adverse drug reactions (Odds Ratio = 1.81; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.27-2.56).
conclusionThe anticholinergic burden in this cohort of elderly psychiatry patients was high, with 95.1% (n = 1108) experiencing a significant burden. Adverse drug events and anticholinergic burden scales were positively associated with polypharmacy, with a stronger correlation between polypharmacy and ALS scores than with other anticholinergic burden scales in older adults.
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