The usage of anticholinergic medications in a low- and middle-income country: a longitudinal comparison of 2013–15 and 2020–22 datasets

While the effects of anticholinergic drug use have been increasingly highlighted, trends in anticholinergic use remain poorly understood.

To determine the changes in frequency and pattern of anticholinergic drug use within a low- and middle-income country.

Comparisons were made between population-based datasets collected from Malaysian residents aged 55 years and older in 2013–15 and 2020–22. Anticholinergic exposure was determined using the anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) tool. Drugs with ACB were categorised according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification.

A total number of 5707 medications were recorded from the 1616 participants included in the 2013–15 dataset. A total number of 6175 medications were recorded from 2733 participants in 2020–22. Two hundred and ninety-three (18.1%) and 280 (10.2%) participants consumed \(\ge 1\) $\ge 1$ medication with ACB \(\ge 1\) $\ge 1$ in 2013–15 and 2020–22 respectively. The use of nervous system drugs with ACB had increased (27 (0.47%) versus 39 (0.63%). The use of ACB drugs in the cardiovascular (224 (3.9%) versus 215 (3.4%)) and alimentary tract and metabolism (30 (0.52%) versus 4 (0.06%)) classes had reduced over time. Participants in 2020–22 were significantly less likely than those in 2013–15 to have total ACB = 1 − 2 (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.473[0.385–0.581]) and ACB \(\ge\) $\ge$ 3 (0.251[0.137 − 0.460]) compared to ACB = 0 after adjustment for potential confounders (p < 0.001).

Although anticholinergic exposure has decreased over time, the use of medications with anticholinergic effects in the nervous system class has risen. This increase is attributable to antipsychotic use, which is of concern due to potential cardiovascular complications, and deserves further evaluation.