Psychotropic Drug Use Is Common Among Older AD Patients

Patients who are diagnosed with Alzheimer disease (AD) at age 90 years or older are more likely to use psychotropic drugs than patients diagnosed at a younger age, according to new research from Finland.

It is well known that frequent use of some drugs, including psychotropics, can cause significant adverse effects in the oldest population, yet few studies have addressed these concerns.
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To better understand drug use among the elderly, the researchers examined data from adults who were diagnosed with AD from 2005 to 2011 in the Finnish Medication and Alzheimer Disease (MEDALZ) cohort.

In their analysis, the researchers included data from 3319 adults aged 90 years and older and 63,896 adults aged younger than 90 years at the time of AD diagnosis. The researchers tracked drug use during the 6 months following an AD diagnosis.

Participants with AD were matched by age, gender, and region of residence to a participant without AD.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that 56% of participants aged 90 years and older with AD were using psychotropic drugs, compared with 48% of those with AD and aged younger than 90 years and 38% of those with AD and similar age.

However, use of antidementia drugs were used less frequently by participants aged 90 years or older with AD (63%) than younger participants with AD (72%).

“The vulnerable oldest persons with AD receive a substantial burden of psychotropics,” the researchers conclude.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Taipale H, Koponen M, Tanskanen A, Tolppanen A-M, Tiihonen J, Hartikainen S. Drug use in persons with and without Alzheimer’s disease aged 90 years or more [published online September 8, 2016]. Age Ageing. doi:10.1093/ageing/afw141.