Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41078246›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2025

Anticholinergics, executive function, and cognitive/behavioral changes in Down syndrome.

Nancy Raitano Lee, Goldie A McQuaid, Haila Jiddou, Jessica McNulty, Hannah E Grosman, Kamaria T Tucker, Meghan O'Brien, Gregory L Wallace

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

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 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Anticholinergics, executive function, and cognitive/behavioral changes in Down syndrome.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    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

8 authors.

Nancy Raitano LeeDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6663-0713
Goldie A McQuaidDepartment of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
Haila JiddouDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jessica McNultyDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Hannah E GrosmanDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Kamaria T TuckerDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Meghan O'BrienDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Gregory L WallaceDepartment of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

Funding

Emotion processing, gender identity, and differential risk for anxiety and depression in autistic adultsK01MH129622 · NIMH · GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY · PI Goldie Ann McQuaid · 2022 to 2026
$780k
Executive dysfunction as a treatment target for DS clinical trials: An evaluation of its real-world and neural correlates.R21HD106164 · NICHD · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · PI LEE, NANCY RAITANO, WALLACE, GREGORY L · 2021 to 2022
$541k
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R21HD106164Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R21HD106164-S1NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD106164NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH129622NIMH NIH HHS K01MH129622
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAnticholinergic (AC) medication use is considered a risk factor for cognitive impairment and deterioration in the general population; yet, this has not been examined in Down syndrome (DS), a disorder with high dementia rates.

methodsFamily members of 108 young adults with DS (18-39 years) reported on their loved one's medication use, executive function, and changes in cognition and behavior using a dementia screener. Medications were coded for their AC potency using the CRIDECO Anticholinergic Load Scale (CALS).

resultsForty percent of the sample was taking at least one medication with a CALS AC potency of ≥1. These individuals were reported to have greater executive function difficulties and more changes in cognition/behavior relative to those not taking AC medications. DISCUSSION: AC medication use may represent a modifiable risk factor for cognitive deterioration in adults with DS; more research on this topic, particularly with older adults with DS, is needed. HIGHLIGHTS: Identifying modifiable risk factors for dementia in Down syndrome (DS) is critical. A risk factor studied in the general population is anticholinergic (AC) medication. This risk factor has not been studied in DS, a high-risk group. AC medication use was associated with everyday cognitive challenges in young adults with DS. Longitudinal studies across adulthood, including older adults with DS, are needed.

Indexed as

Cholinergic AntagonistsCognitionCognitive DysfunctionDown SyndromeExecutive FunctionAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleNeuropsychological TestsRisk FactorsYoung AdultCholinergic Antagonistsanticholinergic medicationcognitive declinedementia screeningDown syndromeexecutive functionintellectual disabilitymodifiable risk factor

Identifiers

PMID41078246
PMCPMC12516352

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.