Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39839078›Full record

ReviewAlzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.)

Data-driven discovery of associations between prescribed drugs and dementia risk: A systematic review.

Benjamin R Underwood, Ilianna Lourida, Jessica Gong, Stefano Tamburin, Eugene Yee Hing Tang, Emad Sidhom, Xin You Tai, Matthew J Betts, Janice M Ranson, Margarita Zachariou and 6 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing 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

11 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Cytomegalovirus and Aging-How Can the Field Move Forward?The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Alzheimer Combination Therapies: Overview and Scenarios.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025
    Review
  10. Applications of artificial intelligence in drug discovery for neurological diseases.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Review
  11. Review
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

16 authors.

Benjamin R UnderwoodDepartment of Psychiatry and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Windsor Unit Fulbourn Hospital Cambridge University of Cambridge Cambridge UK.
Ilianna LouridaNIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West (PenARC) University of Exeter Exeter UK.
Jessica GongDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London London UK.
Stefano TamburinDepartment of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences University of Verona Verona Italy.
Eugene Yee Hing TangPopulation Health Sciences Institute Newcastle University Newcastle UK.
Emad SidhomDepatment of Clinical neurosciences University of Cambridge, and Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Windsor Unit, Fulbourn Hospital Cambridge UK.
Xin You TaiNuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences University of Oxford Oxford UK.
Matthew J BettsInstitute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg Magdeburg Germany.
Janice M RansonDepartment of Health and Community Sciences, Medical School University of Exeter Exeter UK.
Margarita ZachariouBioinformatics Department The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics Nicosia Cyprus.
Olajide E OlaleyeDepartment of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota USA.
Saswati DasAtal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital New Delhi India.
Neil P OxtobyUCL Centre for Medical Image Computing Department of Computer Science University College London London UK.
Shanquan ChenInternational Centre for Evidence in Disability London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine London UK.
David J LlewellynDepartment of Health and Community Sciences, Medical School University of Exeter Exeter UK.
Deep Dementia Phenotyping (DEMON) Network

Funding

Project-001R01AG017644 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INST OF NEUROLOGY · PI Andrew Steptoe · 2000 to 2026
$56.2M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG017644
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Abstract: Recent clinical trials on slowing dementia progression have led to renewed focus on finding safer, more effective treatments. One approach to identify plausible candidates is to assess whether existing medications for other conditions may affect dementia risk. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies adopting a data-driven approach to investigate the association between a wide range of prescribed medications and dementia risk. We included 14 studies using administrative or medical records data for more than 130 million individuals and 1 million dementia cases. Despite inconsistencies in identifying specific drugs that may modify Alzheimer's or dementia risk, some themes emerged for drug classes with biological plausibility. Antimicrobials, vaccinations, and anti-inflammatories were associated with reduced risk, while diabetes drugs, vitamins and supplements, and antipsychotics were associated with increased risk. We found conflicting evidence for antihypertensives and antidepressants. Drug repurposing for use in dementia is an urgent priority. Our findings offer a basis for prioritizing candidates and exploring underlying mechanisms. Highlights: ·We present a systematic review of studies reporting association between drugs prescribed for other conditions and risk of dementia including 139 million people and 1 million cases of dementia.·Our work supports some previously reported associations, for example, showing decreased risk of dementia with drugs to treat inflammatory disease and increased risk with antipsychotic treatment.·Antimicrobial treatment was perhaps more surprisingly associated with decreased risk, supportive of recent increased interest in this potential therapeutic avenue.·Our work should help prioritize drugs for entry into adaptive platform trials in Alzheimer's disease and will serve as a useful resource for those investigating drugs or classes of drugs and risk of dementia.

Indexed as

Alzheimer's diseasedementiadrug repurposingelectronic health recordsmachine learningmedicationspharmacoepidemiology

Identifiers

PMID39839078
PMCPMC11747987

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.