MedWire News: Elderly patients who take anticholinergic drugs for urinary incontinence, motion sickness, peptic ulcer symptoms or other conditions may experience greater declines in their mental abilities than their peers who do not take these drugs, study findings suggest.

Explaining the reasons for the study, lead researcher Professor Jack Tsao, from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, said: "There are reports of anticholinergic... agents causing a dementia-like syndrome in otherwise healthy individuals."

To investigate further, Professor Tsao and his team studied 870 Catholic nuns and clergy members who were aged an average of 75 years and did not have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

The researchers assessed the participants' use of anticholinergic medications and their mental abilities at the start of the study, and annually thereafter for a period of 7 years.

In total, 679 of the participants took at least one type of anticholinergic medication during the study period.

After accounting for age, gender and education levels, the researchers found that, on average, the mental abilities of participants taking anticholinergic drugs declined at a rate that was 1.5 times faster than that of participants who did not take these drugs.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Professor Tsao concluded: "Our findings point to anticholinergic drugs having an adverse impact on cognitive performance in otherwise normal, older people."

He added: "Doctors may need to take this into account before prescribing these commonly used drugs."