Many of us rely on medicines to manage everyday issues like colds, allergies, or high blood pressure. But new research reveals that some of these commonly used medications may impact our memory over time.
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, recently studied a group of drugs called anticholinergic drugs. These medications are used to treat a variety of conditions, including high blood pressure, allergies, and colds.
Some are available over-the-counter, while others require a doctor’s prescription. The researchers were interested in how these drugs might affect memory, especially for older adults.
In the study, the researchers examined 688 older people, with an average age of 74. None of the participants had memory problems when the study began. The scientists carefully reviewed the medications these people took and noted how often they used anticholinergic drugs.
They then tested the participants’ memory each year, tracking changes over a period of up to 10 years.
The findings were unexpected. People who regularly took anticholinergic drugs experienced more memory difficulties compared to those who didn’t take these medications. In fact, their risk of developing memory issues was nearly 50% higher than that of non-users.
For some people in the study, the stakes were even higher. Certain individuals had biological signs—known as biomarkers—that could indicate a future risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Among these participants, those who used anticholinergic drugs were four times more likely to encounter memory problems compared to those without these biomarkers.
Additionally, those with a genetic predisposition to memory diseases saw their risk more than double if they used these drugs regularly.
Why is this important? Memory plays a vital role in our daily lives, helping us recognize faces, remember names, and find our way home.
For older adults, any added memory loss can have serious effects, especially as our memory naturally weakens with age. Memory issues can make it hard to remember essential things, like turning off the stove or finding the way back home, which can pose real safety concerns.
For anyone concerned about taking these medications, the researchers suggest it might be a good idea to talk with a doctor. Your doctor can help assess whether it’s safe to continue using these drugs or if there may be alternative treatments that have less impact on memory.
This study highlights an important but often overlooked side effect of some common medications.
While these drugs are helpful for managing certain health issues, it’s essential to be aware of the potential trade-offs, especially when it comes to memory, a critical part of our identity and independence as we age.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and Vitamin B supplements could help reduce dementia risk.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that high-fiber diet could help lower the dementia risk, and these antioxidants could help reduce dementia risk.
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