title: Small longitudinal study of serum anticholinergic activity and cognitive change in community-dwelling older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The discriminative ability of serum anticholinergic activity (SAA) to differentiate between older individuals with stable versus deteriorating cognition remains undetermined. We examined the relationship between SAA changes, the presence or absence of a mild neurocognitive disorder, age and anticholinergic medication over a one-year time period.
  
  
  METHODS
  SAA at baseline and one-year follow-up was measured for 121 older adults without dementia. Participants were classified at both timepoints as being cognitively intact or meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for a mild neurocognitive disorder. Medications were assessed according to the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SAA changes did not discriminate between individuals whose cognition remained stable versus those with improvement or decline (H[3]=0.725, p=0.867). SAA change did not vary between age groups, and could not reliably differentiate between individuals on ACB medication or not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While SAA does not appear to be a valid biomarker for cognitive decline, longitudinal studies with a larger sample size and longer duration are required to confirm this finding.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Semeling, Malaysia. Electronic address: avi_mandu@yahoo.co.in.
authors.forename: Mandavi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashyap
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Benoit H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Mulsant
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Pharmacy, Université; de Montréal, Centre de Recherche, Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Cara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tannenbaum
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000097:blood*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011813:Quinuclidinyl Benzilate; D011869:Radioligand Assay; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014316:Tritium; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists; D014316:Tritium; D011813:Quinuclidinyl Benzilate
keywords: SAA; anticholinergic; older adults