Medication linked to cognitive problems in older people

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Anticholinergic drugs are being associated with mild cognitive impairment in the elderly.
Anticholinergic drugs are commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease, urinary incontinence and irritable bowel syndrome. Now doctors in France suggest that these may be linked to cognitive problems among older people.

They interviewed 372 elderly people and found that ten per cent of them were on anticholinergic drugs. The cognitive performance of the whole group - who were not suffering from dementia - was assessed over an eight year period. Those on the medications showed poorer cognitive performance than those who did not take the drugs. In fact 80 per cent of the drug users met the criteria for mild cognitive impairment - often seen as a precursor for dementia - compared to just 35 per cent of non-users. But the drug users were not actually at increased risk of developing dementia. The researchers say that doctors should take the cognitive impact of anticholinergic drugs into account when they are prescribing and monitoring them.

Source
BMJ Online First 31st January 2006

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