Patterns of Medication Initiation and Continuation Impacting Cognitive Function in Elderly Patients - Takeaways - MDSpire

Patterns of Medication Initiation and Continuation Impacting Cognitive Function in Elderly Patients

  • By

  • Dan P. Ly

  • Annie W. Yang

  • Mei Leng

  • Catherine Sarkisian

  • Cheryl L. Damberg

  • John N. Mafi

  • April 28, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    Older adults frequently initiate medications that adversely affect cognition from acute or postacute care settings.

  • 2

    Patients with dementia are particularly likely to initiate antipsychotics from acute settings, with rates significantly higher than their overall visits.

  • 3

    A substantial proportion of patients continue taking medications affecting cognition one year after initiation, especially those with dementia.

  • 4

    The study identified 4955 new medication initiations, representing 23.4 million first prescriptions among Medicare beneficiaries from 2009 to 2021.

  • 5

    Efforts to reduce prescriptions of cognition-affecting medications should focus on acute and postacute care settings for maximum impact.

Original Source(s)

Patterns of Medication Initiation and Continuation Impacting Cognitive Function in Elderly Patients

  • by Dan P. Ly, Annie W. Yang, Mei Leng, Catherine Sarkisian, Cheryl L. Damberg, John N. Mafi

  • April 28, 2026

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