Acute Antipsychotic Use and Presence of Dysphagia Among Older Veterans with Heart Failure.

This is an observational study, so it shows an association between antipsychotic use and recorded dysphagia, not proof that antipsychotics caused dysphagia. Dysphagia was identified from diagnosis codes and facility assessments, not routine swallow studies, so some cases may be missed and the type of swallowing problem is not well described. Facility dysphagia data depend on staff observing and documenting eating behaviors, so underreporting is possible. The study did not fully measure heart failure severity beyond ejection fraction, and physical frailty was not formally measured, so these factors may explain part of the association. The cohort was mostly male Veterans with multiple comorbidities, so results may not apply to other populations. The study did not determine whether dysphagia persists after antipsychotics are stopped.

One author receives grant funding from Sanofi Pasteur, paid to Brown University, for research on infections and vaccinations in nursing home residents and infants. Another author is supported by an American Heart Association grant, receives personal fees for medicolegal consulting related to heart failure, and has received honoraria from Akcea Therapeutics and Bionest. The provided text does not state who funded the study itself.

Do not conclude that antipsychotics cause dysphagia. This was a retrospective record-based cohort study, and patients who received antipsychotics also had more dementia, delirium, and altered diets, so the association may not be causal.