492 Anticholinergic burden in older people: descriptive analysis of the Community Ageing Research 75+ Study (CARE75+) cohort population

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Anticholinergic burden is the cumulative effect on an individual of using one or multiple drugs with anticholinergic activity . Anticholinergic activity is associated with several serious adverse events (AE), and it is often the result of Polypharmacy which is the prescribing of multiple medications. Reported AE include dry mouth, urinary retention, blurred vision, cognitive impairment, and falls leading to increased mortality and poor patient outcomes. Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale (ACB) provide an estimation of total anticholinergic burden. Anticholinergic burden quantified by the ACB scale provides a prediction of impairment in physical and cognitive functioning on older people (1). Aim To descriptively analyse the CARE 75+ cohort population. To estimate the frequency of ACB scores according to demographic characteristics of CARE75+ cohort population. Methods A cohort consisting of 1277 participants was analysed. Anticholinergic burden was calculated using an online ACB tool. The ACB tool lists 88 medicines likely to have none, possible, or definite anticholinergic properties with a score ranging from 0 to 3. High scores predict cognitive and functional impairment in older people. Descriptive statistics were used to present the demographics of the cohort. Results The CARE75+ is a longitudinal cohort study collecting an extensive range of health, social and economic data in older people since 2014 with a focus on frailty, independence and quality of life in older age (2). The participants had similar total number of medicines prescribed. Higher ACB scores were more commonly observed in younger female participants. Conclusion Based on these findings younger female patients are more likely to be at risk of anticholinergic AE. A greater understanding of the frequency of high ACB scores has the potential to improve awareness and indicate high risk patient groups, which can lead to more individualised optimisation of prescribing.