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Many drugs that are prescribed widely to older people have anticholinergic properties. In an Australian study that involved 36,000 older adults (mean age, 83), researchers examined whether anticholinergic drug use was associated with higher risk for hospitalization for altered mental status.
Based on two published anticholinergic risk scales, 30 drugs were considered to have strong anticholinergic potential, including drugs used for bladder and bowel overactivity, antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, paroxetine, antihistamines, and several anti-Parkinson drugs. All participants had received at least one of these drugs during the year before study entry. Then, during 2 years of study, the researchers compared rates of hospitalization fo…