Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Impact of deprescribing AChEIs on aggressive behaviors and antipsychotic prescribing.

Niznik JD, Zhao X, He M, Aspinall SL, Hanlon JT, Nace D, Thorpe JM, Thorpe CT. Impact of deprescribing AChEIs on aggressive behaviors and antipsychotic prescribing. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2020 Apr 1; 16(4):630-640.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the impact of deprescribing acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) on aggressive behaviors and incident antipsychotic use in nursing home (NH) residents with severe dementia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of Medicare claims, Part D, Minimum Data Set for NH residents aged 65+ with severe dementia receiving AChEIs in 2016. Aggressive behaviors were measured using the aggressive behavior scale (ABS; n = 30,788). Incident antipsychotic prescriptions were evaluated among antipsychotic non-users (n = 25,188). Marginal structural models and inverse probability of treatment weights were used to evaluate associations of AChEI deprescribing and outcomes. RESULTS: The severity of aggressive behaviors was low at baseline (mean ABS = 0.5) and was not associated with deprescribing AChEIs (0.002 increase in ABS, P = .90). Incident antipsychotic prescribing occurred in 5.1% of residents and was less likely with AChEI deprescribing (adjusted odds ratio = 0.52 [0.40-0.68], P < .001]). DISCUSSION: Deprescribing AChEIs was not associated with a worsening of aggressive behaviors or incident antipsychotic prescriptions.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.