Table 2.
Description of the anticholinergic exposure according to the different scores, and according to the diagnostic stage
| Exposure to anticholinergic, frequency (%) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD | Total (n = 473) | Major NCD (n = 219) | Mild NCD (n = 131) | SCD (n = 123) | p value for difference between diagnostic stage* | |
| ACB | 0.78 ± 1.24 | 188 (39.75%) | 98 (44.75%) | 47 (35.88%) | 43 (34.96%) | 0.12 |
| ADS | 0.67 ± 0.93 | 208 (43.97%) | 108 (49.32%) | 56 (42.75%) | 44 (35.77%) | 0.05 |
| ARS | 0.26 ± 0.67 | 81 (17.12%) | 41 (18.72%) | 22 (16.79%) | 18 (14.63%) | 0.63 |
| Chew’s score | 1.09 ± 1.39 | 235 (49.68%) | 118 (53.88%) | 58 (44.27%) | 59 (25.11%) | 0.20 |
| Han’s score | 0.57 ± 0.89 | 168 (35.52%) | 93 (42.47%) | 39 (29.77%) | 36 (29.27%) | 0.01† |
*Unadjusted association
†Association between Han’s score and diagnostic stage remained significant (p = 0.03) after adjustment for age (p = 0.12), gender (p = 0.92), total number of drugs (p ≤ 0.001), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) (p = 0.06). Pairwise test showed significant difference between major NCD and mild NCD, and SCD (p = 0.01), and no difference between mild NCD and SCD (p = 0.93)
ACB Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden, ADS Anticholinergic Drug Scale, ARS Anticholinergic Risk Scale, NCD neurocognitive disorder, SCD subjective cognitive decline