Affiliations: [a] University Hospital of Dijon, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherches, Department of Neurology, Dijon, France | [b] Centre Mémoire de Ressource et de Recherche, EA CoBTeK, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Nice, France | [c] Gérontopôle de Toulouse, Département de Médecine Interne et Gérontologie Clinique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France | [d] University Hospital AP-HM, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Agnès Jacquin-Piques, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherches, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Dijon, 14, Rue Paul Gaffarel –F-21 000 Dijon, France. Tel.: +33 3 80 29 53 74; Fax: +33 3 80 29 33 15; E-mail: agnesjacquin@free.fr
Abstract: Background:Psychotropic drugs are frequently prescribed in nursing homes (NH). Nonetheless, we hoped that institutionalization decreases the number of psychotropic drug classes prescribed, because NH residents may have more psychosocial interventions than patients living at home. Objective:The aim was to compare the type and number of psychotropic drugs prescribed in elderly NH residents with dementia with those in community-living patients. Methods:This cross-sectional study included elderly patients (at least 75 years old) with dementia recorded in the National Alzheimer’s data Bank (“Banque Nationale Alzheimer”) during the year 2012 and who were taking at least one psychotropic drug. Psychotropic drugs were classified as follows: antidepressant, anxiolytic, hypnotic, and antipsychotic drugs. Patients were classified into three categories of dementia severity according to the MMSE score. Results:Among the 50,932 patients with dementia recorded in the BNA, 40.1% had at least one psychotropic drug prescribed. Most of the patients who were treated by at least one psychotropic drug class had antidepressant therapy (69.0%), whatever their residence type, and 16.1% were treated with antipsychotics. Among the study population, 51.9% of the NH residents and 67.4% of the patients living at home had only one psychotropic drug class prescribed. Living in a NH was significantly associated with the more frequent prescription of anxiolytic, hypnotic, and antipsychotic drugs, and with a greater number of psychotropic drug classes prescribed, whatever the severity of the dementia. Conclusion:We underlined the more frequent prescription of psychotropic drugs in NH residents regardless of MMSE scores.
Keywords: Dementia, National Alzheimer’s data Bank, nursing home, psychotropic drug
