ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2026
Antidepressant Use Among US Nursing Home Residents With Dementia.
Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Antidepressant Use Among US Nursing Home Residents With Dementia.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn 2024, 6.9 million Americans lived with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), with nursing homes serving as a major site of care. Antidepressants are the most prescribed psychotropic medications among nursing home residents with ADRD, yet detailed information on prescribing patterns, potential indications, and associated resident and facility characteristics remain limited.
methodsUsing 2018 minimum data set 3.0 assessments linked to Medicare claims, we conducted a cross-sectional study of long-stay nursing home residents aged ≥ 65 years with ADRD who were continuously enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service for 120 days before their annual assessment. We described usage by drug class and type and compared characteristics of users versus non-users overall and by potential indications: depression, anxiety, pain, and insomnia.
resultsAmong 232,543 residents with ADRD, 51.6% used antidepressants. Fewer than 5% had moderate or severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10). Use was highest among residents with depression or anxiety (69.5%), pain (61.9%), and insomnia (60.0%). Among those without these conditions, 14.1% were prescribed antidepressants. SSRIs were the most prescribed class (60.7%) overall. Citalopram, mirtazapine, sertraline, and trazodone were the most common medications. Residents with any current level of depression severity were more likely to use antidepressants compared to those without symptoms, whereas all levels of cognitive impairment were associated with lower use compared with cognitively intact residents with ADRD. Polypharmacy was strongly associated with increased use, while diabetes, heart failure, and stroke were associated with reduced use.
conclusionsAntidepressants were frequently prescribed to residents with ADRD despite limited documentation of active depressive symptoms. Limitations in accurately capturing depressive symptoms in nursing home records, including underreporting by residents due to cognitive impairment and reliance on staff observation rather than self-report, may contribute to apparent discordance between symptoms and prescribing. Further research should evaluate treatment appropriateness, deprescribing opportunities, and risk-benefit balance of chronic treatment in this population.
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