Impact of psychotropic medications on cognition among older adults: a systematic review

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review is to examine the cognitive impact of psychotropic medications including benzodiazepines, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, or a combination of these drugs on older adults.Design: Systematic review.Setting: We searched Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase through the Ovid platform, CINAHL through EBSCO, and Web of Science.Participants and interventions: Randomized control trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that used a validated scale to measure cognition with a follow-up period of at least six months were included.Measurement: The primary outcome of interest was cognitive change associated with psychotropic medication use.Results: A total of 7551 articles were identified from the primary electronic literature search across the five databases after eliminating duplicates. Based on full-text analysis, 27 articles (two RCTs, 25 cohorts) met the inclusion criteria. Of these, nine each examined the impact of benzodiazepines and antidepressants, five examined psychotropic combinations, three on antipsychotic drugs, and one on the effects of mood stabilizers.Conclusions: This is the first systematic review to examine the cognitive impact of multiple psychotropic drug classes in older adults over an extended follow-up period (six months or more) using robust sample sizes, drug-free control groups, and validated cognitive instruments. We found evidence to indicate cognitive decline with the cumulative use of benzodiazepines and the use of antidepressants, especially those with anticholinergic properties among older adults without cognitive impairment at baseline. Further, the use of antipsychotics and psychotropic combinations is also associated with cognitive decline in older adults.

Automated summary

This systematic review examined the cognitive impact of different classes of psychotropic medications on older adults. The findings suggest that the cumulative use of benzodiazepines and certain antidepressants is associated with cognitive decline in older adults. Additionally, the use of antipsychotics and psychotropic combinations is also linked to cognitive decline in this population.