Anticholinergic Burden - Treatment Optimization

Treatment Optimization Regarding Anticholinergic Medications Potential Impact on Cognitive Test Performance

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03208569

Enrollment

663

Registered

2017-07-05

Start date

2017-09-01

Completion date

2021-09-30

Last updated

2025-08-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anticholinergics, Cognitive Function

Keywords

anticholinergic, alzheimer, cognition, MMSE, anticholinergic cognitive burden scale

Brief summary

There is increasing evidence that medications with anticholinergic effects may adversely impact cognitive function. Older adults are particularly sensitive to these effects due to age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. The cumulative impact of taking one or more medications with anticholinergic properties is known as the anticholinergic burden. To quantify this burden, Boustani et al. (2008) developed the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale. The objective of this study is to examine whether optimizing pharmacotherapy concerning drugs with anticholinergic effects-identified by both the ACB scale and the newly developed Swe-ABS-can improve cognitive test performance among individuals attending a memory clinic. Anticholinergic drug use and cognitive performance will be assessed at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

50 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* 50 years and older

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Cognitive function	6 months	Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Range 0-30; maximum 30 indicating preserved cognitive functioning.

Countries

Sweden

Outcome results