Many of us take medicines for common problems like colds, allergies, or high blood pressure. But did you know that some of these medicines might harm your memory? A new study has shown that this could be true.
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego did research to find out if certain drugs affect how our brain works, especially our memory. These drugs are called anticholinergic drugs.
Anticholinergic drugs are used to treat many things. Some lower high blood pressure. Others help with allergies or colds. Some of these medicines are easy to buy at stores, while others need a doctor’s prescription.
The scientists studied 688 older adults. These people were about 74 years old on average. None of them had memory problems when the study started.
The researchers asked the participants about the medicines they used. They were especially interested in whether they took anticholinergic drugs and how often they took them.
Then, the researchers tested the participants’ memory and thinking skills each year for up to 10 years.
The results were surprising. People who took these medicines had a greater chance of having memory problems over time. In fact, they were almost 50% more likely to struggle with memory than people who didn’t take the drugs.
But there’s more.
Some people have signs in their bodies that mean they might be at risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. For those people, taking these medicines made the risk even higher. They were four times more likely to develop memory problems.
Others have genes from their family that increase their risk for memory loss. If they took these drugs, they were more than twice as likely to have memory problems.
Why is this important?
Our memory helps us with everyday tasks, like remembering names, faces, or how to get home. As people get older, their memory naturally gets a little weaker. But if a medicine makes that worse, it can become dangerous. For example, someone might forget to turn off the stove or get lost on their way home.
If you or someone you care about takes these kinds of medicines, there’s no need to panic. But it is a good idea to talk to a doctor. They can help decide whether it’s safe to keep taking the medicine or if there are better options.
This study reminds us how important it is to understand what we put into our bodies and how it affects our health, especially our brain.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and cranberries could help boost memory.
For more health information, please see recent studies about heartburn drugs that could increase risk of dementia, and results showing this MIND diet may protect your cognitive function, prevent dementia.
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