Dementia Medications and Their Association with Pain Medication Use in Medicare Beneficiaries with Alzheimer's Disease/Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias and Chronic Pain.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Chronic pain is prevalent among older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (ADRD). Memantine and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ACHEI; donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine) are approved for the treatment of dementia symptoms and may also have analgesic properties. However, findings on the clinical utility of these dementia medications for chronic pain treatment are mixed, and little is known about differences in the use of pain medication according to whether an older adult with AD/ADRD is using dementia medications.

Methods

We selected a 20% national sample of Medicare enrollees with a diagnosis of AD/ADRD and chronic pain in 2020. We calculated the odds of having any pain management prescription (opioids, seroton

SUBMITTER: Milani SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11880075 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature