title: Association Between Anticholinergic Medication Use and Cognition, Brain Metabolism, and Brain Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Older Adults.
abstract: The use of anticholinergic (AC) medication is linked to cognitive impairment and an increased risk of dementia. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the association between AC medication use and neuroimaging biomarkers of brain metabolism and atrophy as a proxy for understanding the underlying biology of the clinical effects of AC medications.
  
  
  
  To assess the association between AC medication use and cognition, glucose metabolism, and brain atrophy in cognitively normal older adults from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and the Indiana Memory and Aging Study (IMAS).
  
  
  
  The ADNI and IMAS are longitudinal studies with cognitive, neuroimaging, and other data collected at regular intervals in clinical and academic research settings. For the participants in the ADNI, visits are repeated 3, 6, and 12 months after the baseline visit and then annually. For the participants in the IMAS, visits are repeated every 18 months after the baseline visit (402 cognitively normal older adults in the ADNI and 49 cognitively normal older adults in the IMAS were included in the present analysis). Participants were either taking (hereafter referred to as the AC+ participants [52 from the ADNI and 8 from the IMAS]) or not taking (hereafter referred to as the AC- participants [350 from the ADNI and 41 from the IMAS]) at least 1 medication with medium or high AC activity. Data analysis for this study was performed in November 2015.
  
  
  
  Cognitive scores, mean fludeoxyglucose F 18 standardized uptake value ratio (participants from the ADNI only), and brain atrophy measures from structural magnetic resonance imaging were compared between AC+ participants and AC- participants after adjusting for potential confounders. The total AC burden score was calculated and was related to target measures. The association of AC use and longitudinal clinical decline (mean [SD] follow-up period, 32.1 [24.7] months [range, 6-108 months]) was examined using Cox regression.
  
  
  
  The 52 AC+ participants (mean [SD] age, 73.3 [6.6] years) from the ADNI showed lower mean scores on Weschler Memory Scale-Revised Logical Memory Immediate Recall (raw mean scores: 13.27 for AC+ participants and 14.16 for AC- participants; P = .04) and the Trail Making Test Part B (raw mean scores: 97.85 seconds for AC+ participants and 82.61 seconds for AC- participants; P = .04) and a lower executive function composite score (raw mean scores: 0.58 for AC+ participants and 0.78 for AC- participants; P = .04) than the 350 AC- participants (mean [SD] age, 73.3 [5.8] years) from the ADNI. Reduced total cortical volume and temporal lobe cortical thickness and greater lateral ventricle and inferior lateral ventricle volumes were seen in the AC+ participants relative to the AC- participants.
  
  
  
  The use of AC medication was associated with increased brain atrophy and dysfunction and clinical decline. Thus, use of AC medication among older adults should likely be discouraged if alternative therapies are available.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center, Indianapolis2Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Shannon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Risacher
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center, Indianapolis2Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Brenna C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center, Indianapolis2Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Eileen F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Tallman
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center, Indianapolis2Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis3Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Martin R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Farlow
authors.affiliation: Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis4Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Fredrick W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Unverzagt
authors.affiliation: Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis5Department of Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Sujuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis6Indiana University Center for Aging Research, Indianapolis7Regenstrief Institute Inc, Indianapolis, Indiana8Eskenzai Health, Indianapolis, Indiana.
authors.forename: Malaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boustani
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Crane
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Ronald C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Clifford R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Jagust
authors.affiliation: Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute, University of Southern California, San Diego.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Aisen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Radiology, Medicine, and Psychiatry, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco15Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center, Indianapolis2Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Saykin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D001284:Atrophy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18