title: Psychotropic drug use in relation to psychiatric symptoms in community-living persons with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: We attempted to determine the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and psychotropic drug use in persons with Alzheimer's disease based on a multicenter patient registry of 671 community-living persons diagnosed with the disease by published criteria. Logistic regression was performed to determine which symptoms were associated psychotropic use after controlling for age, sex, and Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score. At least one psychotropic drug was reported by 31% of patients, and 66% had at least one psychiatric symptom. Antipsychotics were associated with a lower MMSE score (odds ratio = 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.88-0.97), emotional lability (OR = 4.52, 95% CI 1.69-11.94), and hallucinations (OR = 6.54, 95% CI 2.99-14.26). Antidepressants were associated with depressive symptoms (OR = 5.8, 95% CI 2.61-13.46), and benzodiazepines with a lower MMSE score (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.97). Community-living persons with Alzheimer's disease are frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs; however, more than 50% of patients with a psychiatric symptom did not report taking one of these agents. This suggests that alternative therapies and no treatment are also prevalent.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D002641:Chicago; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012042:Registries; D014922:Wisconsin
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs