ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2025
Regular use of opioids and dementia, cognitive measures, and neuroimaging outcomes among UK Biobank participants with chronic non-cancer pain.
Article in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Antidepressant use and dementia, cognitive measures, and neuroimaging outcomes: A population-based cohort study.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Orofacial pain and dementia: a brief narrative review of associations, putative mechanisms, and relevant clinical considerations.Odontology · 2026Review
- Hippocampal Volume and Brain Tau Pathology in Opioid Use Disorder: Associations with Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose.Addiction neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exposome influences: a multi-omics perspective on the combined toxic effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Review
- Decoding Dementia Mechanisms: Identification of Key Oligodendrocyte- Associated Genes through Integrative Bioinformatics and Machine Learning.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Episodic Memory, Chiari I Malformation, Personality and Coping: The Role of Chronic Pain.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Repeat Opioid Use Modulates Microglia Activity and Amyloid Beta Clearance in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Regular use of opioids and dementia, cognitive measures, and neuroimaging outcomes among UK Biobank participants with chronic non-cancer pain.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionWe investigated the association between regular opioid use and incident dementia, neuroimaging outcomes, and cognitive measures.
methodsCox regression was used to assess the association between opioid use and incident dementia among197,673 UK Biobank participants with chronic non-cancer pain. Linear and logistic regression were applied to explore the associations between opioid use and dementia-related neuroimaging and cognitive function outcomes.
resultsRegular opioid use was associated with a 20% higher risk of all-cause dementia and a 49% higher risk of vascular dementia (VD) compared with those not using analgesics. Moreover, those using strong opioids had a 72% higher risk of all-cause dementia and a 155% higher risk of VD. Strong opioid use was also linked to reductions in hippocampal, white matter, and total brain volumes. Lastly, regular opioid use was associated with lower fluid intelligence. DISCUSSION: A higher risk of dementia was observed among participants regularly using opioids, escalating with opioid strength. HIGHLIGHTS: Regular opioid use was associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and VD. Those using strong opioids had a much higher risk of all-cause dementia and VD. Strong opioid use was also associated with worse neuroimaging outcomes. Regular opioid use was also associated with lower fluid intelligence.
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