Abstract
Background
Inappropriate medications are often used in older adults despite their unfavourable risk-to-benefit profile. Although many of the medications in the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers list are potentially inappropriate because of their anticholinergic properties, little is known regarding the nature and extent of potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medication use in older adults.
Objectives
To determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with, potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medication use in the older population.
Methods
A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted, involving older adults (aged 65 years and older), using 2009–2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. The 2012 AGS Beers Criteria were used to define potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications on the basis of the list of medications to avoid using in older adults irrespective of the diagnosis. Descriptive analyses were used to examine the nature and extent of potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medication use. Multivariable logistic regression within the conceptual framework of the Andersen Behavioral Model was used to identify the factors associated with potentially inappropriate anticholinergic use in older adults.
Results
According to the MEPS, there were 78.60 million older adults in the USA; an estimated 7.51 million (9.56 %) of these older adults used potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications in 2009–2010. The most frequently used potentially inappropriate anticholinergics were cyclobenzaprine, promethazine, amitriptyline, hydroxyzine and dicyclomine. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that female sex, residing in the South and the presence of anxiety disorder increased the likelihood of receiving potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications, whereas older adults aged 75–84 or ≥85 years, and those with over 15 years of education, had a decreased likelihood of receiving potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications.
Conclusion
The study found that approximately one in ten older adults used potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications. Several predisposing, enabling and need factors were associated with the use of potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medications. Concerted efforts are needed to optimize potentially inappropriate anticholinergic medication use in older adults.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beers MH, Ouslander JG, Rollingher I, et al. Explicit criteria for determining inappropriate medication use in nursing home residents. Arch Intern Med. 1991;151:1825–32.
Stuck AE, Beers MH, Steiner A, et al. Inappropriate medication use in community-residing older persons. Arch Intern Med. 1994;154:2195–200.
Liu GG, Christensen DB. The continuing challenge of inappropriate prescribing in the elderly:an update of the evidence. JAMA. 2002;42:847–57.
Beers MH, Ouslander JG, Fingold SF, et al. Inappropriate medication prescribing in skilled-nursing facilities. Ann Intern Med. 1992;117:684–9.
Gurwitz JH, Soumerai SB, Avorn J. Improving medication prescribing and utilization in the nursing home. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1990;38:542–52.
Willcox SM, Himmelstein DU, Woolhandler S. Inappropriate drug prescribing for the community-dwelling elderly. JAMA. 1994;272(4):292–6.
United States General Accounting Office. Prescription drugs and the elderly. Many still receive potentially harmful drugs despite recent improvements: report to the Honorable Ron Wyden, House of Representatives. Washington, DC: US General Accounting Office, 1995.
Aparasu RR, Fliginger SE. Inappropriate medication prescribing for the elderly by office-based physicians. Ann Pharmacother. 1997;31:823–9.
Fu AZ, Jiang JZ, Reeves JH, et al. Potentially inappropriate medication use and healthcare expenditures in the US community-dwelling elderly. Med Care. 2007;45:472–6.
Beers MH. Explicit criteria for determining potentially inappropriate medication use by the elderly: an update. Arch Intern Med. 1997;157:1531–6.
Fick DM, Cooper JW, Wade WE, et al. Updating the Beers Criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults: results of a US consensus panel of experts. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:2716–24.
American Geriatrics Society 2012 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel. American Geriatrics Society updated Beers Criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012;60(4):616–31.
Boustani M, Campbell N, Fox C, et al. Impact of anticholinergics on the aging brain: a review and practical application. Aging Health. 2008;4(3):311.
Carnahan RM, Lund BC, Perry PJ, et al. The concurrent use of anticholinergics and cholinesterase inhibitors: rare event or common practice? J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004;52(12):2082–7.
Mintzer J, Burns A. Anticholinergic side-effects of drugs in elderly adults. J R Soc Med. 2000;93(9):457–62.
Fox C, Smith T, Maidment I, et al. Effects of medications with anti-cholinergic properties on cognitive function, delirium, physical function and mortality: a systematic review. Age Aging. 2014;43(5):604–15.
Hilmer SN, Mager DE, Simonsick EM, et al. Drug burden index score and functional decline in older adults. Am J Med. 2009;122(12):1142–9.
Shelton PS, Fritsch MA, Scott MA. Assessing medication appropriateness in the elderly: areview of available measures. Drugs Aging. 2000;16(6):437–50.
Tune L, Carr S, Hoag E, et al. Anticholinergic effects of drugs commonly prescribed for the elderly: potential means for assessing risk of delirium. Am J Psychiatry. 1992;149(10):1393–4.
Lau DT, Kasper JD, Potter DE, et al. Potentially inappropriate medication prescriptions among elderly nursing home residents: their scope and associated resident and facility characteristics. Health Serv Res. 2004;39(5):1257–76.
Caterino JM, Emond JA, Camargo CA. Inappropriate medication administration to the acutely ill elderly: a nationwide emergency department study, 1992–2000. JAm Geriatr Soc. 2004;52:1847–55.
Bergman A, Olsson J, Carlsten A, et al. Evaluation of the quality of drug therapy among elderly patients in nursing homes. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2007;25(1):9–14.
Perri M 3rd, Menon AM, Deshpande AD, et al. Adverse outcomes associated with inappropriate drug use in nursing homes. Ann Pharmacother. 2005;39(3):405–11.
Wawruch M, Macugova A, Kostkova L, et al. The use of medications with anticholinergic properties and risk factors for their use in hospitalized elderly patients. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2012;21:170–6.
Kumpula EK, Bell JS, Soini H, et al. Anticholinergic drug use and mortality among residents of long-term care facilities: a prospective cohort study. J Clin Pharmacol. 2011;51(2):256–63.
Jessen F, Kaduszkiewicz H, Daerr M, et al. Anticholinergic drug use and risk for dementia: target for dementia prevention. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010;260(Suppl 2):S111–5.
Fox C, Richardson K, Maidment ID, et al. Anticholinergic medication use and cognitive impairment in the older population: the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011;59:1477–83.
Kolanowski A, Fick DM, Campbell J, et al. A preliminary study of anticholinergic burden and relationship to a quality of life indicator, engagement in activities, in nursing home residents with dementia. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2009;10(4):252–7.
Bhattacharya R, Chatterjee S, Carnahan RM, et al. Prevalence and predictors of anticholinergic agents in elderly outpatients with dementia. Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. 2011;9(6):434–41.
Sura SD, Carnahan RM, Chen H, et al. Prevalence and determinants of anticholinergic medication use in elderly dementia patients. Drugs Aging. 2013;30(10):837–44.
Chatterjee S, Mehta S, Sherer JT, et al. Prevalence and predictors of anticholinergic medication use in elderly nursing home residents with dementia: analysis of data from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. Drugs Aging. 2010;27(12):987–97.
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (online). http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h137/h137doc.pdf. Accessed 9 July 2013.
Cohen JW, Cohen SB, Banthin JS. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey: a national information resource to support healthcare cost research and inform policy and practice. Med Care. 2009;47(7 Suppl 1):S44–50.
Andersen R, Newman JF. Societal and individual determinants of medical care utilization in the United States. Milbank Mem Fund Q Health Soc. 1973;51(1):95–124.
Andersen RM. Revisiting the behavioralmodel and access to medical care: does it matter? J Health Soc Behav. 1995;36(1):1–10.
Piecoro LT, Browning SR, Prince TS, et al. A database analysis of potentially inappropriate drug use in an elderly Medicaid population. Pharmacotherapy. 2000;20(2):221–8.
Curtis LH, Ostbye T, Sendersky V, et al. Inappropriate prescribing for elderly Americans in a large outpatient population. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1621–5.
Spence MM, Shin PJ, Lee EA, et al. Risk of injury associated with skeletal muscle relaxant use in older adults. Ann Pharmacother. 2013;47:993–8.
Hong IS, Bishop JR. Anticholinergic use in children and adolescents after initiation of antipsychotic therapy. Ann Pharmacother. 2010; 44(7–8): 1171–80.
Wastesson JW, Ringbäck Weitoft G, Johnell K. Educational disparities in antipsychotic drug use among older adults with and without dementia in Sweden. Acta Psychiatr Scand. Epub 2014. doi:10.1111/acps.12378.
Zhang Y, Baicker K, Newhouse JP. Geographic variation in the quality of prescribing. N Engl J Med. 2010;363(21):1985–8.
Qato DM, Trivedi AN. Receipt of high risk medications among elderly enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans. J Gen Intern Med. 2013;28(4):546–53.
National Institute of Mental Health. Anxiety disorders [NIH publication no. 09 3879]. Bethesda: National Institutes of Health, US Department Of Health And Human Services, 2009. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/nimhanxiety_34436.pdf. Accessed 15 Mar 2015.
Llorca PM, Spadone C, Sol O, et al. Efficacy and safety of hydroxyzine in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a 3-month double-blind study. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63:1020–7.
Miyata S, Hirano S, Ohsawa M, et al. Chlorpheniramine exerts anxiolytic-like effects and activates prefrontal 5-HT systems in mice. Psychopharmacology. 2011;213(2–3):441–52.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Satabdi Chatterjee for editorial assistance. The authors have no conflicts of interest or financial interests that are relevant to this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kachru, N., Carnahan, R.M., Johnson, M.L. et al. Potentially Inappropriate Anticholinergic Medication Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Study. Drugs Aging 32, 379–389 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-015-0257-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-015-0257-x