When you take medicine for common health problems like allergies, high blood pressure, or a cold, you expect it to help you feel better. But a new study from the University of California, San Diego, has found something surprising. Some of these medicines might actually make it harder for people to remember things.
The medicines the researchers looked at are called anticholinergic drugs. They are used to treat a lot of different conditions. Some people take them for allergies, others for bladder problems, high blood pressure, colds, or even Parkinson’s disease.
There are around 100 different types of these drugs. Some are sold in stores without a prescription, while others you can only get if a doctor prescribes them.
In the study, 688 people took part. They were all around 74 years old and had healthy memory and thinking skills when the study started. To join the study, people had to be taking at least one of these medicines regularly — at least once a week for more than six months.
The researchers followed these people for up to ten years. Every year, they checked how their memory and thinking skills were doing.
About one-third of the people were taking these types of medicines, and many were taking more than one. On average, they were taking about five different kinds. Some common medicines included Metoprolol and Atenolol for high blood pressure, Loratadine for allergies, and Bupropion for depression.
The results were concerning. People who were taking at least one of these anticholinergic medicines had a 47% higher chance of developing memory problems compared to those who were not taking them. Memory problems can be an early sign of serious brain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
The study also found even bigger risks for certain groups. If someone already had early signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brain and was taking these medicines, they were four times more likely to have memory problems.
And if a person had genes that made them more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, taking these medicines made them 2.5 times more likely to have trouble with memory.
So, what does this mean? It suggests that people — especially older adults — should be careful about using these kinds of medicines if they want to protect their memory and brain health. It’s also a reminder for doctors and patients to think carefully about which medicines are really needed and to talk about the risks.
If you have high blood pressure, it’s also a good idea to keep an eye on new research. Sometimes, lifestyle changes like eating healthy foods, such as beetroot, can help lower blood pressure naturally. Exercise, reducing salt, and staying at a healthy weight can make a big difference too.
The study, led by Lisa Delano-Wood, shows that while medicines can be helpful for one problem, they can sometimes cause other problems. This research, published in the journal Neurology, is an important step toward helping people make better choices to keep their brains healthy as they age.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about low choline intake linked to higher dementia risk, and how eating nuts can affect your cognitive ability.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that blueberry supplements may prevent cognitive decline, and results showing higher magnesium intake could help benefit brain health.
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