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. 2021 Jan;17(1):41-48.
doi: 10.1002/alz.12175. Epub 2020 Oct 8.

Drug therapies for chronic conditions and risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: A scoping review

Johanna Thunell  1 , Yi Chen  2 , Geoffrey Joyce  3 , Douglas Barthold  4 , Paul G Shekelle  5 , Roberta Diaz Brinton  6 , Julie Zissimopoulos  7
Affiliations

Drug therapies for chronic conditions and risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: A scoping review

Johanna Thunell et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Most older Americans use drug therapies for chronic conditions. Several are associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).

Methods: A scoping review was used to identify drug classes associated with increasing or decreasing ADRD risk. We analyzed size, type, and findings of the evidence.

Results: We identified 29 drug classes across 11 therapeutic areas, and 404 human studies. Most common were studies on drugs for hypertension (93) or hyperlipidemia (81). Fewer than five studies were identified for several anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory drugs. Evidence was observational only for beta blockers, proton pump inhibitors, benzodiazepines, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. For 13 drug classes, 50% or more of the studies reported consistent direction of effect on risk of ADRD.

Discussion: Future research targeting drug classes with limited/non-robust evidence, examining sex, racial heterogeneity, and separating classes by molecule, will facilitate understanding of associated risk, and inform clinical and policy efforts to alleviate the growing impact of ADRD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; dementia; drug therapies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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