Anti-anxiety medicines associated with increased risk of death in people with dementia, study finds

People with dementia who are prescribed anti-anxiety medications may face an increased risk of death, asserts a study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The study, which was led by researchers from the School of Pharmacy and Centre for Public Health at Queen’s University in Belfast, looked at trends in anti-anxiety and antidepressant prescribing in 28,781 people living with dementia in Northern Ireland between 2012 and 2020, and explored the association between their use and the risk of death.

Of the 14,420 participants who died during the study period, 59.2% had been prescribed antidepressants and 44.8% anxiolytics. Among the control group — those who survived — the figures were lower, at 54.7% and 36.0%, respectively.

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After analysing the data, the researchers found that there was evidence of a slight increased risk of death in people with dementia prescribed antidepressants and a stronger increased risk in those prescribed anti-anxiety medications.

Dr Heather Barry, principal investigator on the study, explains: ‘These findings extend our knowledge and highlight the importance of judicious prescribing for people with dementia.

‘It further underscores the importance of medications being regularly and thoroughly reviewed in people with dementia, whether that be by a GP or a pharmacist, to ensure they are still appropriate and are still needed.’

The researchers also found that prescribing of antidepressant and anxiolytic medications was prevalent among this patient population and higher than what had been recorded in previous studies.

Dr Catherine Sinnamon, lead author of the study, highlighted: ‘People living with dementia often have other medical conditions which means that they are prescribed multiple medications. Sometimes these medicines may not always be appropriate.

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‘Our study aimed to uncover how antidepressant medications affect people with dementia to ensure we can provide them with the best treatment and care.’

As the proportion of people aged 65 and over continues to grow, so too is the prevalence of dementia expected to rise.

It was estimated that there were 885,000 people with dementia in the UK in 2019, equating to a prevalence of 7.1%, which is projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.

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The condition already affects more than 55 million people worldwide, with around 10 million new cases diagnosed each year.

A version of this article was first published on our sister title, The Pharmacist.