Key Summary
- Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast found antidepressants may raise death risk in people with Dementia.
- The study tracked 28,781 patients over nine years in Northern Ireland.
- Experts stress regular medication reviews for dementia patients.
A recent study by Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Pharmacy and Centre for Public Health reveals that prescribing antidepressants for dementia patients increases their death risk, Belfast Live reports.
The study was supported by the Honest Broker Service (HBS) staff within the Business Services Organisation Northern Ireland (BSO) and published in the ‘Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease’.
Experts state that dementia has no effective treatment and therefore, antidepressants do not help. Moreover, dementia patients often have other medical conditions and are on multiple medications.
To carry out the study, the team looked at trends in prescribing of medications used to treat depression and anxiety in people with dementia and explored the association between the use of these medications and the risk of death.
The researchers studied the dangers of prescribing antidepressants to dementia patients via a study involving 28,781 dementia patients from Northern Ireland for nine-years (2012-2020).
Half of the patients died during the study and its follow-up. It also found that 59.2 per cent who died were prescribed with these drugs, while the 44 per cent were suggested to take anti-anxiety medications.
“The findings extend our knowledge and highlight the importance of judicious prescribing for people with dementia,” commented Dr Heather Barry, principal investigator of the study to Belfast Live.
“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 appropriate,” she added.
