Anticholinergic burden: considerations for older adults

Anticholinergic Medications and Cognition in Older Adults

Anticholinergic burden quantified by anticholinergic risk scales and adverse outcomes in older people: a systematic review

BACKGROUND The cumulative effect of taking multiple medicines with anticholinergic properties termed as anticholinergic burden can adversely impact cognition, physical function and increase the risk of mortality. Expert opinion derived risk scales are routinely used in research and clinical practice to quantify anticholinergic burden. These scales rank the anticholinergic activity of medicines ...

Anticholinergic activity of 107 medications commonly used by older adults.

The objective of this study was to measure the anticholinergic activity (AA) of medications commonly used by older adults. A radioreceptor assay was used to investigate the AA of 107 medications. Six clinically relevant concentrations were assessed for each medication. Rodent forebrain and striatum homogenate was used with tritiated quinuclidinyl benzilate. Drug-free serum was added to medicati...

Anticholinergic burden in older women: not seeing the wood for the trees?

OBJECTIVES To identify medicines contributing to and describe predictors of anticholinergic burden among community-dwelling older Australian women. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective longitudinal analysis of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health linked to Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines data from 1 January 2008 to 30 December 2010; for 3694 women b...

Anticholinergic burden is associated with recurrent and injurious falls in older individuals.

OBJECTIVE While the anticholinergic activity of medications has been linked to cognitive decline, few studies have linked anticholinergic burden with falls in older people. We evaluated the relationship between anticholinergic burden and recurrent and injurious falls among community-dwelling older adults. STUDY DESIGN This case-control study was performed on 428 participants aged ≥65 years, 2...