Temporal Trends of Anticholinergic Drug Exposure Among Older Adults: A 25-Year Population-Based Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Exposure to anticholinergic drugs is associated with adverse outcomes, particularly among older adults. Limiting the anticholinergic burden (ACB) among older patients has been advocated for decades, but reliable population-level data on temporal trends are lacking. Here, we estimated the cumulative incidence and incidence rates (IRs) of a cumulative ACB score of three or more (cACB ≥ 3) among older adults in a community-dwelling population and described the changes in IR over the past 25 years.

Methods

Within the population-based Rotterdam Study, pharmacy dispensing records were obtained from 11,038 individuals aged 65+ years from 1996 to 2020. The cACB score was calculated with the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale and supplemented with drugs on the ACB scal

SUBMITTER: Evelo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12423137 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature