Table 1.
Baseline population characteristics according to the baseline level of exposure to anticholinergic and sedative drugs
| Baseline DBI level: | No exposure n = 314 |
Moderate exposure n = 1339 |
High exposure n = 317 |
Total n = 1970 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) or mean ± sd | p-value | n (%) or mean ± sd | |||
| Sex | |||||
| Female | 179 (57.0) | 814 (60.8) | 202 (63.7) | 0.222 | 1195 (60.7) |
| Age (years) | 79.8 ± 7.9 | 79.8 ± 7.1 | 78.8 ± 7.4 | 0.076 | 79.6 ± 7.3 |
| Educational level n = 1,862 | 0.001 | ||||
| None | 46 (15.3) | 191 (15.1) | 68 (22.8) | 305 (15.5) | |
| Primary | 79 (26.2) | 414 (32.8) | 94 (31.5) | 587 (29.8) | |
| Secondary and further | 176 (58.5) | 658 (52.1) | 136 (45.6) | 970 (49.3) | |
| IADL (/8) n = 1,927 | 4.8 ± 2.3 | 4.5 ± 2.4 | 4.0 ± 2.4 | < 0.001 | 4.5 ± 2.4 |
| NPI (/144) n = 1,522 | 16.2 ± 15.0 | 19.9 ± 16.1 | 23.8 ± 19.1 | < 0.001 | 20.0 ± 16.6 |
| Anxiety disorders n = 1,887 | 5 (1.7) | 27 (2.1) | 7 (2.3) | 0.851 | 39 (2.0) |
| Depressive disorders n = 1,887 | 4 (1.3) | 32 (2.5) | 21 (7.0) | < 0.001 | 57 (2.9) |
| MMSE (/30) | 21.6 ± 5.5 | 21.1 ± 5.6 | 20.5 ± 5.9 | 0.037 | 21.1 ± 5.7 |
DBI Drug Burden Index, IADL Instrumental Activities of Daily Living score, MMSE Mini Mental State Examination, NPI Neuropsychiatric Inventory score