Objectives: To evaluate the prescription and discontinuation of psychotropic drugs (PD) and drugs with anticholinergic properties (DAP) in residents with dementia admitted to Roken, a major type of long-term care facility in Japan.
Design: Cohort study.
Setting: A nationwide questionnaire survey across 3598 Roken in Japan in 2015 (up to five randomly selected residents per facility).
Participants: This study included 1201 residents from 343 Roken (response rate: 10%). We determined the presence and severity of dementia using a nationally standardised measure.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: Prescriptions of PD and DAP at admission and 2 months after admission were evaluated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations of residents' baseline characteristics with prescriptions or discontinuation.
Results: Prescription rates decreased for antidementia drugs (19.4% to 13.0%), hypnotics (25.1% to 22.6%) and anxiolytics (12.3% to 10.7%), whereas those for other PD, such as antipsychotics (13.2% to 13.6%), antidepressants (7.4% to 6.7%), antiepileptic drugs (7.1% to 7.8%) and DAP (35.2% to 36.6%) did not statistically significantly decrease. Some factors were associated with the prescriptions, for example, for antipsychotics, older age (≥85 years) (adjusted OR (aOR), 0.60; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.85) and being bedridden (aOR 0.67; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.97) were associated with a lower use of antipsychotics, whereas severe dementia was associated with a higher use of antipsychotics (aOR 3.26; 95% CI 2.26 to 4.70). At an individual level, a quarter of residents prescribed PD or DAP at admission had discontinued at least one PD or DAP, respectively, 2 months after admission. Antidementia drug use in severe dementia (aOR 1.86; 95% CI 1.04 to 3.31) and PD use in older age (aOR 1.61; 95% CI 1.00 to 2.60; in residents with disabling dementia) were associated with discontinuation.
Conclusions: There is possible scope for deprescribing PD and DAP in Roken residents with dementia to mitigate the risks of adverse events.
Keywords: dementia; geriatric medicine; old age psychiatry.
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