title: Profile and variables related to antipsychotic consumption according to dementia subtypes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Antipsychotics (APs) are usually prescribed to deal with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), but poor outcomes, important side effects, and high mortality risk should be addressed. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of AP consumption in patients with dementia, and to describe and compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients consuming APs.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study using 1,894 cases of dementia registered from 2007 to 2009 by the Registry of Dementias of Girona (ReDeGi), which is a population-based passive surveillance system of dementia diagnoses. APs were categorized according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification, and grouped as typical antipsychotics (TAPs) or atypical antipsychotics (AAPs). Binary logistic regression analyses were used to detect the predictors of AP use as well as the variables associated with TAP or AAP prescription.
  
  
  RESULTS
  APs were used in 29.6% of the cases, with Parkinsonian syndromes (PSd) being the subtype of dementia with the highest AP prescription (50.6% of the patients with PSd). AAPs were mainly prescribed in all subtypes of dementia, except in vascular dementia (VaD) and PSd, where no preference in TAP or AAP use was found. Psychotic antecedents, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) diagnoses, cognitive impairment, and BPSD were AP use predictors. AAP use was related to higher severity of dementia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite their disputed benefit-risk ratios, APs are extensively used, off-label, to treat BPSD, and AAPs are more commonly prescribed than TAPs. AP consumption was frequent in DLB, and was related to dementia severity indicators.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit, Institut d'Assistència Sanitària, Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: Laia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calvó-Perxas
authors.forename: Rosa María
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: de Eugenio
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marquez-Daniel
authors.forename: Raül
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Serena
authors.forename: Josefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Turbau
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vilalta-Franch
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viñas
authors.forename: Oriol
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Turró-Garriga
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Roig
authors.forename: Secundino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: López-Pousa
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garre-Olmo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents