Common drugs linked to cognitive impairment and possibly to increased risk of death

A large, long-term study confirms that medications with anticholinergic activity, which include many drugs frequently taken by older adults, cause cognitive impairment. The research is also the first to identify a possible link between these drugs – which include over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids and incontinence treatments - and risk of death.

The two-year study of the impact of these medications on 13,000 men and women aged 65 and older is part of the UK Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Aging Studies (CFAS), a large UK-based longitudinal multicenter study initiative looking at health and cognitive function in older adults. Results of the study of anticholinergics appeared June 24, 2011, in an advanced on-line publication of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Anticholinergics affect the brain by blocking acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter. Over-the-counter products containing diphenhydramine, sold under various brand names such as Benadryl, Dramamine, Excedrin PM, Nytol, Sominex, Tylenol PM and Unisom, have anticolinergic activity. Other anticholinergic drugs, such as Paxil, Detrol, Demerol and Elavil are available by prescription.