Commonly Used Medications Associated With Impaired Physical Function In Older Adults

Older adults who take drugs designed to block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine -- including common medications for incontinence, high blood pressure and allergies -- are more likely to be dependent in one or more activities of daily living and to walk slower, according to new findings from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

"These results were true even in older adults who have normal memory and thinking abilities," said Kaycee M. Sink, M.D., M.A.S., lead author. "For older adults taking a moderately anticholinergic medication, or two or more mildly anticholinergic medications, their function was similar to that of someone three to four years older."
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