BACKGROUND: Anticholinergic medication use is associated with cognitive decline and incident dementia. Our study, a prospective birth cohort analysis, aimed to determine if repeated exposure to anticholinergic medications was associated with greater decline, and whether decline was reversed with medication reduction.
METHODS: From the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development, a British birth cohort with all participants born in a single week of March 1946, we quantified anticholinergic exposure between ages 53 and 69 years using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (ACBS). We used multinomial regression to estimate associations with global cognition, quantified by the Addenbrooke\'s Cognitive Examination, 3rd Edition (ACE-III). Longitudinal associations between ACBS and cognitive test results (Verbal memory quantified by the Word Learning Test [WLT], and processing speed quantified by the Timed Letter Search Task [TLST]) at three time points (age 53, 60-64 and 69) were assessed using mixed and fixed effects linear regression models. Analyses were adjusted for sex, childhood cognition, education, chronic disease count and severity, and mental health symptoms.
RESULTS: Anticholinergic exposure was associated cross-sectionally with lower ACE-III scores at age 69, with the greatest effects in those with high exposure at ages 60-64 (mean difference - 2.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] - 3.51 to - 1.17). Longitudinally, both mild-moderate and high ACBS scores were linked to lower WLT scores, again with high exposure showing larger effects (mean difference with contemporaneous exposure - 0.90, 95% CI - 1.63 to - 0.17; mean difference with lagged exposure - 1.53, 95% CI - 2.43 to - 0.64). Associations remained in fixed effects models (mean difference with contemporaneous exposure -1.78, 95% CI -2.85 to - 0.71; mean difference with lagged exposure - 2.23, 95% CI - 3.33 to - 1.13). Associations with TLST were noted only in isolated contemporaneous exposure (mean difference - 13.14, 95% CI - 19.04 to - 7.23; p < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: Anticholinergic exposure throughout mid and later life was associated with lower cognitive function. Reduced processing speed was associated only with contemporaneous anticholinergic medication use, and not historical use. Associations with lower verbal recall were evident with both historical and contemporaneous use of anticholinergic medication, and associations with historical use persisted in individuals even when their anticholinergic medication use decreased over the course of the study.

Polypharmacy exacerbates lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Japan exhibits a higher prevalence of concomitant medication use in drug therapy than other countries. Previous age- and sex-specific reports exist; however, none include patients of all ages. Therefore, this retrospective study determined the impact of polypharmacy and its associated risk factors on LUTS exacerbation in outpatients with urological conditions. We included patients receiving medication who visited the Department of Urology at the Gifu Municipal Hospital (Gifu, Japan) between January, 2018 and December, 2018. The association between LUTS and polypharmacy and the risk factors for LUTS exacerbation were investigated. Patients were categorized into two groups according to their polypharmacy status. We performed propensity score matching and compared the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) between the groups using the unpaired t-test. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the risk factors, including \"polypharmacy\" and \"taking multiple anticholinergic medications\" for LUTS exacerbation. When comparing the IPSS between the groups, the polypharmacy group was found to have significantly higher scores than the non-polypharmacy group in six items, including \"total score\" and \"storage score.\" Multiple logistic regression analysis results showed high significance in three items, including \"polypharmacy\" (odds ratio (OR) = 1.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-2.71) and \"taking multiple anticholinergic medications\" (OR = 8.68, 95% CI: 1.05-71.7). In conclusion, this study revealed that \"polypharmacy\" and \"taking multiple anticholinergic medications\" were risk factors for LUTS. Particularly, \"polypharmacy\" is associated with storage symptom exacerbation. Therefore, eliminating \"polypharmacy\" and \"taking multiple anticholinergic medications\" is expected to improve LUTS.

BACKGROUND: Anticholinergic and sedative medications affect cognition among older adults. The Drug Burden Index (DBI) is a validated measure of exposure to these medications, with higher DBI scores indicating higher drug burden. This ancillary analysis investigated the association between DBI and cognition assessed by the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST).
METHODS: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study was a prospective study of community-dwelling adults aged 70-79 years at enrollment. Using data from years 1, 5, and 10, DBI was calculated using medication data per participant. Linear mixed modeling was used to assess cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of DBI on 3MS and DSST. Adjusted models included biological sex, race, education level, APOE status, and death. Sensitivity analyses included testing the strength of the associations for each year and testing attrition due to death as a possible confounding factor via Cox-Proportional Hazard models.
RESULTS: After adjustment, DBI was inversely associated with 3MS and DSST scores. These associations became stronger in each subsequent year. Neither DBI at year 1 nor within-person change in DBI were predictive of longitudinal declines in either cognitive measure. Sensitivity analyses indicated that DBI, 3MS, and DSST were associated with a greater risk of attrition due to death.
CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that in years when older adults had a higher DBI scores, they had significantly lower global cognition and slower processing speed. These findings further substantiate the DBI as a useful pharmacological tool for assessing the effect of medication exposure.

BACKGROUND: Although depression and anticholinergic drug use are common comorbidities that impair health status in later life, there are insufficient data on their relationship. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms and anticholinergic use in older individuals.
METHODS: Community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) admitted to the tertiary referral geriatric outpatient clinic were included. Participants were evaluated for depressive symptoms using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) with a cut-off score of ≥6 for depression. Exposure to anticholinergic drugs was assessed using the anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) scale and three subgroups were created: ACB = 0, ACB = 1, and ACB ≥ 2. The relationship between these two parameters was assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis considering other potential variables.
RESULTS: The study included 1232 participants (mean age 78.4 ± 7.2 years and 65.2% female) and the prevalence of depression was 24%. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared to ACB = 0, having ACB ≥ 2 was related to depression symptoms (odds ratio (OR): 1.56, 95% CI: 1.04-2.35, P = 0.034), whereas having ACB = 1 did not increase the risk (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.88-1.83, P = 0.205).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that special attention should be paid to drug therapy in preventing depression in older adults, as exposure to a high anticholinergic load is negatively associated with psychological status.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between anticholinergic burden (ACB), and cognitive and functional alterations in patients with dementia of Lewy bodies (DLB) during a 1-year follow-up period.
METHODS: This cohort study included patients diagnosed with DLB admitted to a tertiary geriatric outpatient clinic. Cognition, functional performance, and nutritional status were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months during the follow-up period. The ACB was evaluated, and participants were grouped as ACB ≥1 and ACB=0.
RESULTS: A total of 112 patients with DLB (mean age, 79.3 ± 6.8 years; 50.9% female) were included. The mean number of medications was 5.1 ± 4, 56.9% of participants had polypharmacy, and 55.2% had an anticholinergic drug burden. Individuals with ACB ≥1 had lower instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scores at baseline than those with ACB=0 (P=0.014). The Barthel index and Lawton-Brody IADL scores significantly decreased in the ACB ≥1 group on repetitive measurements over time, whereas only the Lawton-Brody IADL scores worsened in the ACB=0 group (all P<0.001). There were no significant differences in cognitive scores and Mini-Mental State Examination subdomains between the groups. The dependent variable repetitive test revealed a significant deterioration in the orientation subdomain in the ACB ≥1 group over time (P=0.001). Multivariable regression models showed no significant effect of ACB score on cognitive and functional impairment.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides evidence that the use of anticholinergic drugs in this vulnerable population may potentially increase the morbidity by adversely affecting functional status and cognitive orientation.

BACKGROUND: Recent decades have seen changes in the urological treatment of myelomeningocele (MMC). We aimed to evaluate the urological outcomes in post-pubertal patients and to clarify associations with walking status, hydrocephalus, and sex.
METHODS: A retrospective study of 103 MMC patients at their final pediatric urological control. Urological procedures, the necessity for Clean Intermittent Catheterization (CIC) and anticholinergic medication, the state of continence, renal ultrasound findings, and serum creatinine values were assessed.
RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 18 years (IQR 16.7-19.6), with 51 (49.5%) being female. Renal function was preserved in all but of one, who presented with mild hydronephrosis. 38 patients walked without assistance, 46 used wheelchairs. Most patients (93%) utilized CIC, and 83% had interventions for overactive or poorly compliant bladder, including anticholinergic medication (47%), Botox treatments (35%), or bladder augmentation (36%). Nearly half (45%) had undergone bladder neck procedures. Continence status revealed 55% fully continent, 18% were rarely incontinent, and 26% were incontinent daily, with most episodes limited to droplet leakage. Incontinence was not associated with the ambulatory status, hydrocephalus, or sex (p = 0.08, >0.99, and 0.07 respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Renal function was effectively maintained with our treatment strategy; however, daily incontinence episodes occurred in one out of four patients, with an additional 18% experiencing occasional rare incontinence episodes. Incontinence, when present, was mostly mild. We found no association between patient characteristics, treatment approach, and continence. Emphasizing incontinence treatment becomes a mainstay in future studies.
METHODS: IV.

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common geriatric syndrome with high health and socio-economic impacts in nursing home (NH) residents.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and types of UI and its associated factors in older people living in NHs in Central Catalonia (Spain). We also determined the proportion of residents who were receiving behavioural strategies to prevent/manage UI.
METHODS: Cross-sectional study in 5 NHs conducted from January to March 2020.
METHODS: We included consenting residents aged 65 + permanently living in the NHs. Residents who were hospitalized, in a coma or palliative care were excluded. UI was assessed using Section H of the Minimum Data Set. Sociodemographic and health-related variables were examined. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses were performed.
RESULTS: We included 132 subjects (82.6% women), mean age of 85.2 (SD = 7.4) years. The prevalence of UI was 76.5% (95% CI: 68.60-82.93). The most common type was functional UI (45.5%), followed by urgency UI (11.4%). Only 46.2% of residents received at least one behavioural strategy to manage UI. Most sedentary behaviour (SB) variables presented a p-value lower than 0.001 in the bivariate analyses, but none remained in the final model. Moderate-severe cognitive impairment (OR = 4.44, p =.003), anticholinergic activity (OR = 3.50, p =.004) and risk of sarcopenia using SARC-F (OR = 2.75, p =.041) were associated with UI.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of UI was high in this sample of NH residents compared to the literature, yet less than half received prompted voiding as a strategy to prevent/reduce UI.UI was associated with cognitive impairment, anticholinergic activity, and risk of sarcopenia.

Older adults are susceptible to anticholinergic effects. Dysphagia and pneumonia are associated with anticholinergic usage, though a definitive causative relationship has not been established. There is no effective way to predict the prognosis of older adults with pneumonia; therefore, this study investigates the predictive value of anticholinergic burden.
Patients aged 65 years and above admitted for community-acquired pneumonia from 2011 to 2018 in Denmark were included through Danish registries. We calculated anticholinergic drug exposure using the CRIDECO Anticholinergic Load Scale (CALS). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and other outcomes included intensive care unit admission, ventilator usage, length of stay, 30-day/90-day/1-year mortality, institutionalisation, home care utilisation and readmission.
186,735 patients were included in the in-hospital outcome analyses, 165,181 in the readmission analysis, 150,791 in the institutionalisation analysis, and 95,197 and 73,461 patients in the home care analysis at follow-up. Higher CALS score was associated with higher in-hospital mortality, with a mean risk increasing from 9.9% (CALS 0) to 16.4% (CALS >10), though the risk plateaued above a CALS score of 8. A higher CALS score was also associated with greater mortality after discharge, more home health care, more institutionalizations and higher readmission rates.
High anticholinergic burden levels were associated with poor patient outcomes including short-/long-term mortality, dependence and readmission. It may be useful to calculate the CALS score on admission of older patients with pneumonia to predict their prognosis. This also highlights the importance of avoiding the use of drugs with a high anticholinergic burden in older patients.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the association of anticholinergic burden and chronic polypharmacy with the incidence of functional decline and all-cause mortality, and to determine the difference between anticholinergic burden and chronic polypharmacy among Korean older people.
METHODS: This nationwide cohort study included 42,132 older people aged ≥ 65 years who underwent Korean National Health Insurance Service health examinations from 2007 to 2008. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for abnormal Timed Up and Go (TUG) test results were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for all-cause mortality until the end of 2015 were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.
RESULTS: Of the participants, 37.19% had abnormal TUG test results, and 7.66% of those died during the 5.7-year mean follow-up. The abnormal TUG test results OR increased by 27% among individuals with Korean Anticholinergic Burden Scale (KABS) scores ≥ 3 (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.02-1.58) compared to those with KABS scores of 0. The HRs for all-cause mortality increased for individuals with higher KABS scores (P for trend < 0.001) or chronic polypharmacy (P for trend < 0.001) compared to those for individuals without these conditions. The combination of a higher KABS or chronic polypharmacy and abnormal TUG test results increased the risk of all-cause mortality (All P for trend < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Anticholinergic drug burden shows a better association with functional decline than chronic polypharmacy, and the use of medications and functional decline may be important risk factors for all-cause mortality among older people.

BACKGROUND: Most medications used to treat psychotic disorders possess anticholinergic properties. This may result in a considerable anticholinergic burden (ACB), which may have deleterious effects on long-term outcomes. The extent to which cumulative ACB over years of treatment with psychotropic medications impacts different outcome domains remains unknown.
METHODS: This was a naturalistic study of 243 subjects with first-episode psychosis aimed at examining the cumulative effect of ACB of psychotropic medications administered over the illness course (ACB-years exposure) on several outcome domains assessed after a mean 21-year follow-up. Associations between ACB and the outcomes were modelled accounting for relevant confounding factors by using hierarchical linear regression analysis.
RESULTS: Over the study period, 81.9 % of the participants were dispensed at least one drug with strong anticholinergic effects for at least 1 year; at the follow-up visit, 60.5 % of the participants continued to take medications with strong ACB. ACB-years exposure was uniquely related to severity of negative symptoms (β = 0.144, p = 0.004), poor psychosocial functioning (β = 0.186, p < 0.001) and poor cognitive performance (β = -0.273, p < 0.001). This association pattern was independent of a schizophrenia diagnosis. Most of the associations between ACB at the follow-up visit and the outcomes were accounted for ACB-years exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: Lifetime ACB of psychotropic medications has deleterious effects on the outcome of psychotic disorders. Clinicians should avoid prescribing medications with strong ACB, since there are numerous alternatives within each psychotropic drug group for prescribing medications with low ACB.