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Review
. 2023 Sep 8:13:20451253231195264.
doi: 10.1177/20451253231195264. eCollection 2023.

Anticholinergic action is rarely a good thing

Delia Bishara  1
Affiliations
Review

Anticholinergic action is rarely a good thing

Delia Bishara. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. .

Abstract

The evidence for the risks associated with anticholinergic agents has grown considerably in the last two decades. Not only are they associated with causing peripheral side effects such as dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation, but they can also cause central effects such as cognitive impairment; and more recently, they have consistently been linked with an increased risk of dementia and death in older people. This paper reviews the evidence for the associations of anticholinergic agents and the risk of dementia and increased mortality in dementia.

Keywords: anticholinergic; antidepressants; antipsychotics; bladder drugs; cognitive burden; older people; pharmacology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

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