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Non-degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people and use of anticholinergic drugs: longitudinal cohort study
Ancelin ML, Artero S, Portet F, Dupuy AM, Touchon J, Ritchie K.. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2006-02-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To assess the potential of anticholinergic drugs as a cause of non-degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting 63 randomly selected general practices in the Montpellier region of southern France. Participants 372 people aged > 60 years without dementia at recruitment. Main outcome measures Anticholinergic burden from drug use, cognitive examination, and neurological assessment. Results 9.2% of subjects continuously used anticholinergic drugs during the year before cognitive assessment. Compared with non-users, they had poorer performance on reaction time, attention, delayed non-verbal memory, narrative recall, visuospatial construction, and language tasks but not on tasks of reasoning, immediate and delayed recall of wordlists, and implicit memory. Eighty per cent of the continuous users were classified as having mild cognitive impairment compared with 35% of non-users, and anticholinergic drug use was a strong predictor of mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio 5.12, P = 0.001). No difference was found between users and non-users in risk of developing dementia at follow-up after eight years. Conclusions Elderly people taking anticholinergic drugs had significant deficits in cognitive functioning and were highly likely to be classified as mildly cognitively impaired, although not at increased risk for dementia. Doctors should assess current use of anticholinergic drugs in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment before considering administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
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APA 7th
Ancelin, M. L., Artero, S., Portet, F., Dupuy, A. M., Touchon, J., & Ritchie, K. (2006). Non-degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people and use of anticholinergic drugs: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38740.439664.de
Vancouver
Ancelin ML, Artero S, Portet F, Dupuy AM, Touchon J, Ritchie K. Non-degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people and use of anticholinergic drugs: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). 2006. doi:10.1136/bmj.38740.439664.de. PMID: 16452102.
BibTeX
@article{ancelin2006-16452102,
author = {Ancelin, M. L. and Artero, S. and Portet, F. and Dupuy, A. M. and Touchon, J. and Ritchie, K.},
title = {{Non-degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people and use of anticholinergic drugs: longitudinal cohort study}},
journal = {BMJ (Clinical research ed.)},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1136/bmj.38740.439664.de},
pmid = {16452102},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38740.439664.de}
}
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Key findings
- Results 9.2% of subjects continuously used anticholinergic drugs during the year before cognitive assessment.
- Compared with non-users, they had poorer performance on reaction time, attention, delayed non-verbal memory, narrative recall, visuospatial construction, and language tasks but not on tasks of reasoning, immediate and delayed recall of wordlists, and implicit memory.
- Eighty per cent of the continuous users were classified as having mild cognitive impairment compared with 35% of non-users, and anticholinergic drug use was a strong predictor of mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio 5.12, P = 0.001).
- Conclusions Elderly people taking anticholinergic drugs had significant deficits in cognitive functioning and were highly likely to be classified as mildly cognitively impaired, although not at increased risk for dementia.
Why it matters
Elderly people taking anticholinergic drugs were more likely to be classified as having mild cognitive impairment but were not at increased risk of developing dementia after eight years. This suggests the cognitive effects of these drugs did not lead to dementia in this cohort.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants372
- Effect size9.2%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 70/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (BMJ (Clinical research ed.)) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | BMJ: journal h-index 608 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 372 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 577 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 26.2 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 22.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 11 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 48 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Karen A. Ritchie: h-index 92 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16452102) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 70 / 100 | — |
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