Association of Antidementia Drugs and Mortality in Community-Dwelling Frail Older Patients With Dementia: The Role of Mortality Risk Assessment.
Alberto Pilotto, Maria Cristina Polidori, Nicola Veronese and 9 others
PMID 29031515WHAT IT FOUND
Antidementia drug use was associated with lower mortality in mild and moderate risk groups, but not severe risk, in frail older adults with dementia.
This is an observational association, not proof that the drugs prolong life.
Key findings
01Antidementia drug use was associated with lower mortality overall: the hazard ratio was 0.82 for less than 2 years of treatment and 0.56 for more than 2 years.
02After propensity adjustment, lower mortality was reported in mild risk (HR 0.69) and moderate risk (HR 0.85), but the association was not evident in severe risk (HR 1.02).
03In matched samples, lower mortality was seen in mild risk (HR 0.71) and moderate risk (HR 0.61), but not severe risk (HR 1.04).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The findings were observational and originated from administrative data. Only all-cause mortality was considered, not different causes of death. A cumulative drug exposure to antidementia drugs was used, which does not exclude drug-specific associations with survival. The follow-up was limited to 2 years, so differences over longer periods could not be assessed. Important confounders, such as antidepressants and neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia, were not included.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest, and the paper does not state a funder.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lower mortality in mild and moderate risk groups as proof that antidementia drugs prolong life. This was an observational study, and important confounders such as antidepressants and neuropsychiatric symptoms were not included.