Association Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Opioid, Hypnotic, or Anticholinergic Medication Use in Older People: Data from the Physical Activity Cohort Scotland Study

The Prognostic Utility of Anticholinergic Burden Scales: An Integrative Review and Gap Analysis

BACKGROUND

Anticholinergic drugs are commonly prescribed, especially to older adults. Anticholinergic burden scales (ABS) have been used to evaluate the cumulative effects of multiple anticholinergics. However, studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the association between anticholinergic burden assessed with ABS and adverse clinical outcomes such as cognitive impairment, functional decline, and frailty. This review aims to identify gaps in research on the development, validation, and evaluation of ABS, and provide recommendations for future studies.

METHOD

A comprehensive search of five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL, CENTRAL) was conducted for relevant studies published from inception until 25 May 2023. Two reviewers screened for eligibility and assessed the quality of studies using different tools based on the study design and stage of the review framework. Research evidence was evaluated, and gaps were identified and grouped into evidence, knowledge, and methodological gaps, using evidence tables to summarize data.

RESULTS

Several evidence, knowledge, and methodological gaps in existing development, validation, and evaluation studies of ABS were identified. There is no universally accepted scale, and there is a need to define a clinically relevant threshold for measuring total anticholinergic burden. The current evidence has limitations, underrepresenting low- and middle-income countries, younger individuals, and populations with cognitive disabilities. The impact of anticholinergic burden on frailty is also understudied. Existing evaluation studies provide limited evidence on the benefit of reducing anticholinergic burden on clinical outcomes or the safety of anticholinergic deprescribing. There is also uncertainty regarding optimal reduction, clinically significant anticholinergic burden thresholds, and cost effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research recommendations to bridge knowledge gaps include developing a risk assessment framework, refining ABS scales, establishing a standardized consensus scale, and creating a longitudinal measure of cumulative anticholinergic risk. Strategies to minimize bias, consider frailty, and promote multidisciplinary and multinational collaborations are also necessary to improve patient outcomes.

The Role of Physical Exercise in Opioid Substitution Therapy: Mechanisms of Sequential Effects

It is generally accepted that chronic opioid use is associated with structural and functional changes in the human brain that lead to an enhancement of impulsive behavior for immediate satisfaction. Interestingly, in recent years, physical exercise interventions have been used as an adjunctive treatment for patients with opioid use disorders (OUDs). Indeed, exercise has positive effects on both the biological and psychosocial basis of addiction, modifying neural circuits such as the reward, inhibition, and stress systems, and thus causing behavioral changes. This review focuses on the possible mechanisms that contribute to the beneficial effects of exercise on the treatment of OUDs, with emphasis placed on the description of a sequential consolidation of these mechanisms. Exercise is thought to act initially as a factor of internal activation and self-regulation and eventually as a factor of commitment. This approach suggests a sequential (temporal) consolidation of the functions of exercise in favor of gradual disengagement from addiction. Particularly, the sequence in which the exercise-induced mechanisms are consolidated follows the pattern of internal activation-self-regulation-commitment, eventually resulting in stimulation of the endocannabinoid and endogenous opioid systems. Additionally, this is accompanied by modification of molecular and behavioral aspects of opioid addiction. Overall, the neurobiological actions of exercise in combination with certain psychological mechanisms appear to promote its beneficial effects. Given the positive effects of exercise on both physical and mental health, exercise prescription is recommended as a complement to conventional therapy for patients on opioid maintenance treatment.

Quality of anticholinergic burden scales and their impact on clinical outcomes: a systematic review

PURPOSE

Older people are at risk of anticholinergic side effects due to changes affecting drug elimination and higher sensitivity to drug's side effects. Anticholinergic burden scales (ABS) were developed to quantify the anticholinergic drug burden (ADB). We aim to identify all published ABS, to compare them systematically and to evaluate their associations with clinical outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a literature search in MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify all published ABS and a Web of Science citation (WoS) analysis to track validation studies implying clinical outcomes. Quality of the ABS was assessed using an adapted AGREE II tool. For the validation studies, we used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Cochrane tool Rob2.0. The validation studies were categorized into six evidence levels based on the propositions of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine with respect to their quality. At least two researchers independently performed screening and quality assessments.

RESULTS

Out of 1297 records, we identified 19 ABS and 104 validations studies. Despite differences in quality, all ABS were recommended for use. The anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) scale and the German anticholinergic burden scale (GABS) achieved the highest percentage in quality. Most ABS are validated, yet validation studies for newer scales are lacking. Only two studies compared eight ABS simultaneously. The four most investigated clinical outcomes delirium, cognition, mortality and falls showed contradicting results.

CONCLUSION

There is need for good quality validation studies comparing multiple scales to define the best scale and to conduct a meta-analysis for the assessment of their clinical impact.

Quality of anticholinergic burden scales and their impact on clinical outcomes: a systematic review

Purpose

Older people are at risk of anticholinergic side effects due to changes affecting drug elimination and higher sensitivity to drug’s side effects. Anticholinergic burden scales (ABS) were developed to quantify the anticholinergic drug burden (ADB). We aim to identify all published ABS, to compare them systematically and to evaluate their associations with clinical outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a literature search in MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify all published ABS and a Web of Science citation (WoS) analysis to track validation studies implying clinical outcomes. Quality of the ABS was assessed using an adapted AGREE II tool. For the validation studies, we used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Cochrane tool Rob2.0. The validation studies were categorized into six evidence levels based on the propositions of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine with respect to their quality. At least two researchers independently performed screening and quality assessments.

Results

Out of 1297 records, we identified 19 ABS and 104 validations studies. Despite differences in quality, all ABS were recommended for use. The anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) scale and the German anticholinergic burden scale (GABS) achieved the highest percentage in quality. Most ABS are validated, yet validation studies for newer scales are lacking. Only two studies compared eight ABS simultaneously. The four most investigated clinical outcomes delirium, cognition, mortality and falls showed contradicting results.

Conclusion

There is need for good quality validation studies comparing multiple scales to define the best scale and to conduct a meta-analysis for the assessment of their clinical impact.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00228-020-02994-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Impact of Anticholinergic Medication Burden on Mobility and Falls in the Lifestyle Interventions for Elders (LIFE) Study

Anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) may be associated with detrimental effects on mobility and physical independence in older adults. We evaluated the incidence of major mobility disability (MMD), persistent major mobility disability (PMMD), and injurious falls among participants within the Lifestyle Interventions for Elders (LIFE) trial according to varied anticholinergic burden levels. Participants aged 70-89 years were randomized to a physical activity (PA) or successful aging (SA) intervention and evaluated by ACB medication use as a summed score of a previously developed ACB scale. Confounders included demographic characteristics, physical function, cognitive function, and fall history. Average participant follow-up was 2.6 years and included outcome assessment for MMD, PMMD, and injurious falls every six months. Adjusted proportional hazards models evaluated the independent effects of ACB scores as well as interaction effects with the intervention. Of the 1635 participants, 986 (60%) used ≥1 anticholinergic medication. Compared to those with no burden, participants with an ACB score of 1 demonstrated increased MMD (HR = 1.42 [1.13-1.78]), PMMD (HR = 1.53 [1.12-2.09]), and injurious falls (HR = 1.60 [1.10-2.32]). Results similar in magnitude were observed for all other ACB levels versus the no burden group. Stepwise dose-response comparisons between ACB groupings did not demonstrate significant differences in outcomes. Stratification by PA or SA interventions demonstrated few differences from the combined overall trial results. Compared to those not taking anticholinergic medications, participants taking anticholinergic medications generally demonstrated increased risk of MMD, PMMD, and injurious falls. Total anticholinergic burden was not associated with a stepwise dose-response relationship in mobility disability and may lack sensitivity to capture varied responses.

Anticholinergic Drugs in Geriatric Psychopharmacology

Drugs with anticholinergic action are widely prescribed in the elderly population due to their potential clinical benefits. However, these benefits are limited by adverse effects which may be serious in particular circumstances. This review presents different aspects of the use of anticholinergics in old age with a focus in psychogeriatric patients. We critically review published data on benefits and disadvantages of anticholinergics, which are often controversial. Prevalence, pathophysiology and measurement methods of the anticholinergic action of drugs are discussed. We also present the most important drawbacks resulting from its use, including effects on cognition in healthy and cognitively impaired people, in aged schizophrenia patients, emergence of delirium and psychiatric symptoms, influence in functionality, hospitalization, institutionalization and mortality, and the potential benefits and limitations of their discontinuation. Finally, we suggest practical recommendations for the safe use of anticholinergics in clinical conditions affecting elderly patients, such as dementia, schizophrenia and acute hallucinatory episodes, depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, cardiovascular conditions and urinary incontinence.