Trends in the use of psychotropics in older people with dementia: interrupted time series of Finnish clinical guidelines of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Up to 90% of people with dementia experience behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) as part of their illness. Psychotropics are not recommended as the first-line treatment of BPSD because older people are more prone to adverse reactions. In this study, we evaluate the impact of the Finnish clinical guidelines of BPSD (published in 2017) on psychotropic use in people with dementia.

Methods

This study is based on Finnish Prescription Register data from 2009 to 2020. The data included all community-dwelling Finnish people aged ≥65 and who had anti-dementia medication purchases (n = 217,778). We used three-phased interrupted time series design to evaluate the changes in levels and trends of monthly (n = 144) psychotropic user rates compared with the

SUBMITTER: Rantsi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10294559 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature