Lifelong Learning: Anticholinergic Medication Burden–Associated Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia-View Article

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Anticholinergic medications used to treat schizophrenia can lead to cognitive impairment, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The study aimed to investigate the impact of anticholinergic medication burden on cognitive functioning in schizophrenia patients. The researchers gathered cross-sectional data from over 1,100 outpatient schizophrenia patients and assessed their cognitive functioning using the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (PCNB). They found that higher anticholinergic medication burden, measured using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale, was associated with worse cognitive performance across all domains tested on the PCNB. This association remained significant even after controlling for demographic characteristics, illness severity, and antipsychotic dosage. The study concluded that anticholinergic medication burden in schizophrenia is substantial and common, and it is associated with cognitive impairments in all cognitive domains. The researchers recommended that the burdens of anticholinergic medications, including psychotropics used in usual care, should be considered in treatment decisions for schizophrenia patients and in studies of cognitive functioning in the context of schizophrenia. They also suggested that efforts to reduce anticholinergic burden may have a beneficial impact on cognitive outcomes in schizophrenia.

Keywords

anticholinergic medications

schizophrenia

cognitive impairment

American Journal of Psychiatry

cognitive functioning

schizophrenia patients

Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale

antipsychotic dosage

psychotropics

cognitive domains