Anticholinergic Agents Linked to Cognitive Impairment

Cumulative exposure to anticholinergics associated with decreased memory, executive function

02 feb 2009 -- Cumulative long-term use of anticholinergic medications can lead to cognitive impairment, including poor memory and executive function, according to study findings published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Ling Han, M.D., Ph.D., of the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study of 544 older men (aged 65 years and older) who were diagnosed with hypertension requiring medication. The Hopkins Verbal Recall Test and the instrumental activity of daily living scale were used to measure short-term memory and executive function, respectively. Participants were followed-up over two years.

A one-unit increase in the total use of anticholinergic medications (over three months) was associated with a 0.32-point decrease in the verbal recall test and a 0.10-point decrease in the daily living scale, the researchers report. This occurred independently of other factors that affected cognitive impairment, including age, education and physical function, the investigators found. Also, the association remained significant despite the use of concomitant non-anticholinergic medications, the report indicates.

"Clinicians prescribing drugs with anticholinergic effects should pay close attention to potential adverse effects that may arise with long-term use of these drugs in older persons," the authors state.

Abstract
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