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Anticholinergic effects of medication in elderly patients
Tune LE.. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2001-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Anticholinergic toxicity is a common problem in the elderly. It has many effects ranging from dry mouth, constipation, and visual impairments to confusion, delirium, and severe cognitive decline. The toxicity is often the result of the cumulative anticholinergic burden of multiple prescription medications and metabolites rather than of a single compound. The management of elderly patients, particularly those suffering from dementia, should therefore aim to reduce the use of medications with anticholinergic effects.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Tune, L. E. (2001). Anticholinergic effects of medication in elderly patients. The Journal of clinical psychiatry.
Vancouver
Tune LE. Anticholinergic effects of medication in elderly patients. The Journal of clinical psychiatry. 2001. PMID: 11584981.
BibTeX
@article{tune2001-11584981,
author = {Tune, L. E.},
title = {{Anticholinergic effects of medication in elderly patients}},
journal = {The Journal of clinical psychiatry},
year = {2001},
pmid = {11584981}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The toxicity is often the result of the cumulative anticholinergic burden of multiple prescription medications and metabolites rather than of a single compound.
Why it matters
This review states that anticholinergic toxicity in the elderly ranges from dry mouth and constipation to confusion, delirium, and severe cognitive decline, and is often due to the cumulative burden of multiple medications rather than a single compound. It recommends that management of elderly patients, particularly those with dementia, aim to reduce the use of medications with anticholinergic effects.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 38 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of clinical psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2001 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 400 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.8 citations a year over 27 year(s) since 2001 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 28 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Larry E. Tune: h-index 37 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Emory University: institution h-index 1,360 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11584981) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 38 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 38 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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