Anticholinergic burden and most common anticholinergic-acting medicines in older general practice patients

Abstract

Anticholinergic burden in older adults has been correlated with cognitive decline, delirium, dizziness and confusion, falls and hospitalisations. Nevertheless, anticholinergic-acting medications remain commonly prescribed in up to a third of older adults in primary care population. Our aim was to study the anticholinergic burden in older adults in Slovenian ambulatory setting and explore the most commonly involved medications which could be avoided by the physicians.

Keywords

• anticholinergic burden
• aged
• general practice
• inappropriate prescribing
• antiholinergično breme
• starostniki
• ambulante družinske medicine
• neprimerno predpisovanje zdravil