Anticholinergic Drug/antipsychotic medications  Exposure leads to a Risk of Dementia by 70%.

 

 

  • One of the riskiest classes of drugs in this regard are anticholinergic drugs, prescribed for a wide variety of conditions, including depression, incontinence, insomnia, allergies and epilepsy
  • Recent research assessing effects of 56 anticholinergics found statistically significant associations between dementia and anticholinergic antidepressants, antiparkinson drugs, antipsychotic drugs, bladder antimuscarinics and antiepileptic drugs
  • In the highest exposure group (excess of 1,095 standardized daily doses over the past one to 11 years before diagnosis), the odds ratio for dementia was between 44% and 54%, with an average of 49%; anticholinergic antipsychotics raise risk by 70%

A partial list of medications:

Antidepressant medications:  amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep) amoxapine (Asendin)     clomipramine (Anafranil)  desipramine (Norpramin) doxepin (Silenor)   imipramine (Tofranil)   nortriptyline (Pamelor)     protriptyline (Vivactil)    trimipramine (Surmontil)

Muscle relaxants:  Amrix; Flexeril, Soma, Robaxin

Respiratory medications: Atrovent, Combivent, Duoneb, Spiriva

Other medications:  diphenhydramine (Benadryl) antipsychotics Parkinson’s medications

JAMA Internal Medicine June 24, 2019 [Epub ahead of print]

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