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Cited by 862Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient OutcomesDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchIntensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders

Impact of Anticholinergics on the Aging Brain: A Review and Practical Application

Boustani, Malaz, Campbell, Noll, Munger, Stephanie, Maidment, Ian, Fox, Chris·2008·Aging Health
DOI 10.2217/1745509x.4.3.311
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Abstract

Objective: in an effort to enhance medication prescribing for older adults and reduce the burden of cognitive impairment, this paper reviews the literature regarding the negative impact of anticholinergics on cognitive function and provides clinicians with a practical guidance for anticholinergic use in older adults. Methods: a Medline search identified studies evaluating the use of anticholinergics and the relationship between anticholinergics and cognitive impairment. Results: prescribing anticholinergics for older adults leads to acute cognitive impairment and, possibly, chronic cognitive deficits. Assessing anticholinergic burden with a simple scale may represent a useful noninvasive tool to optimize geriatric pharmacotherapy. Conclusion: more studies are needed to validate the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale and establish therapeutic guidelines in the presence of cognitive anticholinergic adverse effects.

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Crossref · 10.2217/1745509x.4.3.311

Cites

1 of 1 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Serum anticholinergic activity measured by a receptor bioassay does not correlate well with effects on cognition.

    “Serum anticholinergic activity measured by a receptor bioassay does not correlate well with effects on cognition,16 28”

    From Anticholinergic drugs and risk of dementia: case-control study (2018) · cites this paper as [16]

  • The study also included additional drugs from the Beers 2015 updated list of strong anticholinergic drugs, the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale, a systematic review, and the British National Formulary.

    “We also included additional drugs in the Beers 2015 updated list of strong anticholinergic drugs,15 drugs listed as having a high anticholinergic burden in the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale,16 or identified as high-potency anticholinergics in a systematic review,17 and some further drugs identified as having substantial anticholinergic properties in the British National Formulary”

    From Anticholinergic Drug Exposure and the Risk of Dementia: A Nested Case-Control Study (2019) · cites this paper as [16]

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Authors
Boustani, M., Campbell, N., Munger, S., Maidment, I., & Fox, C.
Affiliations
  • Regenstrief Institute (US)
  • Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital (US)
  • St Martin's Hospital (GB)
  • Shepway Caste Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Fokestone Health Centre,15–25 Dover Road, Folkestone, Kent, CT2 1JY, UK.
ORCID
Venue
Aging Health
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2008-06
Volume
4
Issue
3
Pages
311-320
ISSN
  • 1745-509X (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-5103
DOI
10.2217/1745509x.4.3.311
OpenAlex
W2095755860
Cited by
862
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 93 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 92 · 2023: 70 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 69 · 2020: 94 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 36 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 13
FWCI
4.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Aging Health (publishedVersion)
  • UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine › Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders
Keywords
anticholinergic agents, cognitive impairment, older adults, anticholinergic burden, Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale, geriatric pharmacotherapy, drug prescribing, cognitive decline, adverse drug reactions

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