Antipsychotics Associated With Increased Mortality in Patients With Dementia

Antipsychotic treatment was linked to higher mortality risk among patients with dementia, according to findings published online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Danish researchers conducted a cohort study in which patients receiving treatment with antipsychotics were matched with up to 3 patients not taking antipsychotics. Patients met inclusion criteria if they were between 65 and 95 years of age and diagnosed with dementia between 2009 and 2014.

There were 8244 participants taking antipsychotics and 24,730 participants not receiving treatment. Using Cox proportional hazard models, study authors compared patients’ risk of death within 180 days of treatment initiation, and found that patients taking antipsychotics “had a significantly higher adjusted risk of death” (hazard ratio: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.27-1.43).

“Crude mortality rates were higher among patients with heart disease and diabetes when antipsychotic treatment was initiated compared with patients without comorbidities,” researchers noted.

After stratifying analyses for other comorbidities, authors found no difference in relative risk among patients with and without heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes.

“This nationwide study adds to the evidence that antipsychotic treatment is associated with increased mortality and suggests that attention should be paid to all initiators of antipsychotics irrespective of cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” authors concluded.

Reference:
Nørgaard A, Jensen-Dahm C, Wimberley T, et al. Effect of antipsychotics on mortality risk in patients with dementia with and without comorbidities. J Am Ger Soc. Published online January 14, 2022. doi:10.1111/jgs.17623