Table 3. Contribution of anticholinergic medication classes to cumulative anticholinergic burdena in men and women, with at least one dispensation of medication with anticholinergic activity (MAC) during the observation period (2016), by age group.
| Age groupb | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 19 | 20–34 | 35–49 | 50–64 | 65–79 | 80–94 | ≥ 95 | ||||||||
| Characteristics | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women |
| N = 306,894 | N = 288,767 | N = 260,776 | N = 378,155 | N = 372,387 | N = 568,948 | N = 627,682 | N = 913,551 | N = 609,698 | N = 848,695 | N = 221,985 | N = 373,292 | N = 4,021 | N = 16,830 | |
| MAC class (%)c | ||||||||||||||
| Antidepressants | 8.1% | 16.3% | 38.7% | 47.9% | 35.9% | 45.3% | 25.6% | 36.1% | 11.8% | 21.4% | 10.3% | 19.4% | 11.2% | 18.9% |
| Antihistamines | 24.0% | 20.7% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 2.7% | 2.4% |
| Antipsychotics | 3.9% | 3.1% | 18.1% | 8.3% | 14.6% | 9.1% | 6.4% | 6.2% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| Benzodiazepines | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| Cardiovascular medication | 0.9% | 0.8% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 7.6% | 5.8% | 16.5% | 12.2% | 23.8% | 20.8% | 25.4% | 23.3% | 26.0% | 22.5% |
| Diuretics | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 5.6% | 5.5% | 9.8% | 9.8% | 19.0% | 16.7% |
| Gastrointestinal medication | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.6% |
| Opioids | 0.4% | 0.5% | 2.0% | 1.6% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.3% | 3.0% | 5.3% | 4.5% | 8.2% |
| Medication for Parkinson’s disease | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 4.0% | 2.5% | 5.3% | 2.9% | 2.1% | 1.7% |
| Medication for urinary incontinence/overactive bladder | 8.9% | 5.6% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 2.4% | 4.0% | 3.4% | 6.0% | 8.9% | 10.7% | 13.5% | 12.5% | 12.1% | 10.8% |
| Medication for respiratory diseases | 2.9% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 5.0% | 4.6% | 6.4% | 4.9% | 6.2% | 3.6% | 4.9% | 2.6% |
| Glucocorticoids | 12.5% | 12.3% | 9.4% | 10.7% | 7.5% | 8.5% | 6.4% | 7.1% | 6.5% | 6.8% | 6.3% | 5.4% | 5.1% | 3.6% |
| Tropane alkaloids | 2.0% | 1.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Immunosuppressants | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Muscle relaxants | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Antiemetics | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| Antibiotics | 20.1% | 21.4% | 4.6% | 5.7% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Antiepileptics | 9.9% | 7.1% | 7.0% | 3.3% | 5.0% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.0% | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.3% |
| Non-opioid analgesics | 0.2% | 0.5% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.1% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Antidiabetics | 0.1% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 7.1% | 3.4% | 16.6% | 7.4% | 18.6% | 10.3% | 10.1% | 6.0% | 2.8% | 1.8% |
a The cumulative anticholinergic burden of a MAC is calculated by multiplying each MAC’s anticholinergic cognitive burden (ACB) score by its duration (prescribed number of DDDs).
b The total anticholinergic burden per age group is calculated by summing up each person’s cumulative anticholinergic burden during the observation period in the respective age group.
c Cumulative anticholinergic burden stratified by MAC class.