INDIANAPOLIS, June 2 (UPI) -- Drugs -- many over-the-counter -- for allergies, hypertension or asthma can cause cognition problems in the elderly, U.S. researchers found.
Study author Dr. Malaz Boustani of the Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute and colleagues conducted an analysis of 27 peer-reviewed studies of the relationship of the anti-cholinergic effect in some drugs -- a toxic reaction -- and brain function.
"Many medications used for several common disease states have anti-cholinergic effects that are often unrecognized by prescribers," first author pharmacist Noll Campbell of the Wishard Health Services said in a statement. "In fact, 50 percent of the older adult population use a medication with some degree of anti-cholinergic effect each day."
The analysis, published in the the Journal of Clinical Interventions in Aging, found a strong link between anti-cholinergic effect from the drugs and cognitive impairment in older adults.
"Patients should write down and tell their doctor which over-the-counter drugs they are taking," Boustani said in a statement.
"Doctors, who often think of these medications simply as antihistamines, antidepressants, anti-hypertensives, sleep aids or even itching remedies, need to recognize their systemic anti-cholinergic properties and the fact that they appear to impact brain health negatively."
