--- title: What We Know About Anticholinergic Drugs And Dementia Risk description: A large study found a link between certain widely used anticholinergic drugs and a higher risk of dementia. But that doesn’t mean people should stop taking them canonical: https://time.com/5614803/anticholinergic-drugs-dementia-risk/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-26T16:34:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:43.422Z article:section: Health og:title: Do Some Prescription Drugs Increase Risk of Dementia? Here’s What You Need to Know og:description: A large study found a link between certain widely used anticholinergic drugs and a higher risk of dementia. But that doesn’t mean people should stop taking them og:url: https://time.com/5614803/anticholinergic-drugs-dementia-risk/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98dcdf55bd7c29c6/6988c13f8e06015f0e469cb8/time-health-stock-pills-bottle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: time-health-stock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Do Some Prescription Drugs Increase Risk of Dementia? Here’s What You Need to Know twitter:description: A large study found a link between certain widely used anticholinergic drugs and a higher risk of dementia. But that doesn’t mean people should stop taking them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98dcdf55bd7c29c6/6988c13f8e06015f0e469cb8/time-health-stock-pills-bottle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Despite the Headlines, We Don't Yet Know If Anticholinergic Drugs Contribute to Dementia Risk > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=2084a53b-fa41-4db6-bbbf-6cf8cdf849f4&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Alzheimer's New Hope [Watch (HLS stream): Alzheimer's New Hope](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Dz6EZRwJ.m3u8) (6:48)  _Published 2018-02-14. TIME follows a patient as he begins a drug trial that could offer groundbreaking treatment of Alzheimer's_  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jun 26, 2019 4:34 PM UTC  White tablet with a glass bottle White tablet with a glass bottle Getty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jun 26, 2019 4:34 PM UTC There are a number of things that can increase the risk of dementia: age, of course, as well as certain genetic profiles and behaviors such as smoking and drinking. Some of the same things that contribute to heart disease, such as high cholesterol levels and the build up of plaques in the blood vessels, can also boost the chances of developing dementia. And in a large [study published in _JAMA Internal Medicine_](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2736353) conducted in the UK, researchers report another possible factor: a group of drugs known as anticholinergics. These include prescription medications for treating depression, pulmonary disease, and Parkinson’s, as well as over-the-counter remedies for allergies. British researchers analyzed data from nearly 59,000 people with dementia as well as people without the condition and found that those who took the most anticholinergic drugs were 49% more likely to have developed dementia compared to those not taking the medications. Anticholinergic drugs work by blocking a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which is critical for regulating muscles and for controlling messages sent to the nervous system. Previous studies have found side effects including memory loss and confusion linked to the drugs, so the British team wanted to investigate how these medicines might connect to dementia risk. While the results are intriguing, they do not suggest that the medications are a definite risk factor for dementia. For one, the study was designed to detect only an association, and not a cause-and-effect relationship, between the drugs and dementia. Second, notes Yian Gu, an assistant professor in neurological sciences at Columbia University who was not involved in the study, the researchers could not fully discount the possibility that whatever condition prompted the patients to take the medications in the first place was actually connected to heightened dementia risk, and not the drugs themselves. For example, depression and sleep disturbances, two reasons anticholinergic drugs are prescribed, are often a precursor to Alzheimer’s dementia. “This is a very large study and seems to be well designed,” says Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association, “but the issue for this kind of study is that no matter how well you design it, it’s impossible to control completely for all possible confounding variables.” To truly see if anticholinergic drugs are contributing to dementia risk, researchers would have to take a group of people on the medications, ask them to stop taking them, and then compare their rates of dementia to those who continued to take them, to see if there were any differences. That’s unlikely to happen, since the drugs are effective in addressing symptoms for many patients. For now, says Fargo, people who are on the medications should not stop taking them, and the findings, while interesting, aren’t likely to change the way doctors prescribe the drugs—at least until more research is done to clarify if, and how they might be influencing dementia risk. “I don’t think we’ll see people changing practice guidelines at this point, and people will likely still err on the side of treating conditions as effective as possible with these medications, rather than going all out to avoid them. It’s just too early to be doing that.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Joanne and I both went to the University of Michigan. I did not know here there. She was already hooked up with another guy. [ LAUGH ] But as soon as I saw her, I wanted to know that woman. And so, Peter came and started talking to me, and he said would you like to come to a party with me. And I said no, I am sorry, I can't. And I said no, I am sorry, I can't all the way the party. Most probably the closest thing to loving at first sight. When we got closer, and closer together, and decided to marry. And then have a child, and- That was 57 years ago, so it's beginning to look like it might work out. [ LAUGH ] [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] You are more worried about me than I am. Well I find that, Peter, it gets frustrated Easily. More so? Yes, and you know his frustration comes out in anger if something doesn't work out really well. That's been happening. And a little more memory trouble you think? Yes, I do. When I found out that I had Alzheimer's it was definitely a big shock. Yeah, it's nothing you can fool around with. Knowing more about it, there isn't any solution at this point in time. It was a hard day, but then we decided, okay, now we know. What can we do about it? This medicine with a funny name called Aducanumab was developed with a really interesting aproach where they looked at older people who had lived a long life And either didn't develop Alzheimer's or had a very slow form of Alzheimer's, something that's retarding Alzheimer's or protecting against Alzheimer's. And they identified a number of antibodies that might fight the Alzheimer process. What's been so exciting about it is that this medicine seem to slow down memory loss hospital. Do you like to color at all? Yeah. We've got some coloring books. This study, we've been doing this for probably two and a half year and people there randomized. They receive the medicine or they're receiving placebo and they won't know and the nurse and the investigators here won't know either. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Do you guys know what infusion number this is? 30. I started in November, so one infusion a month would be ten. Is that right? Yeah, November, December, January, Feburary, March, April, May, June, July, August That's how I do it. [ LAUGH ] It's unchartered teritory for me so you don't really know where this is gonn lead you or you'll end up and surely there has to be a cure, that's my attitude and if I can help to Natures the discovery so much the better. We designed this- So awesome. This we did for dance platterware. Actually this are- It's got a natural band in the back for your hand this way when you cut with the knife. Peter has never had a great memory but obviously things were getting worse and in terms of work, you could see the difference in this trying to remember where job was left off and what needed to be done. And the interesting part about it is it never diminish Computers design sense and his ability to be creative. Now he may not be able to tell you when the next meeting was or what was to be discussed in the meeting. But as far as design was concerned, he never lost that. [ UNKNOWN ] left here? Yes, yes, sweetie The way we [ INAUDIBLE ]. I can't specifically remember a point in time. It seems like a slow evolution. I was excellent with the sense of direction when driving. That's just gone away now. I don't wanna lose my driving skills. I mean I wanna have that independence. The study lasts for four years. And, so it's now been what, 15 months. Peter is still driving but only with me in the car. So that has changed in that we're together 24 / 7. If I go to have my hair cut, Peter comes with me. If he goes to have his hair cut, I go with him. And it does, really, I have to say, it does increase the bond. The adversity can really, sometimes, make you closer. Hi, Dr. [ UNKNOWN ], how are you? Hello, hi, how are you doing? Good to see you. Thanks for doing all these wonderful things. We're happy to participate. That's great. Happy to further the cause. Yeah, I feel this actually As just participating is a breakthrough . >> Yeah. Yeah . >> Because people thought Alzheimers forget about it, can't do anything about it, not even worth trying . >> Right . >> And so what we are doing is changing the narrative . >> Now, I understsood from whern we first talked to you , >> Yes . >> That after 18 months of Peter having started the program , >> Right . >> That we then find out whether or not Peter has been getting a placebo or [ CROSSTALK ] I'm glad you brought that up, so I can clarify that. [ LAUGH ] Well, what is true, after 18 months, you can continue receiving the medicine every month as you are now, but you're guaranteed to get the medicine. You won't find out your original assignment until the data's reported for the whole trial. I see. Okay. Then you'll know. That's when the results become available. We won't know until then, that's how it works. Yeah, okay. Peter says that he's always the glass is half full kind of guy. And I'm always the glass is half empty kind of woman. So, I worry a lot that he's getting a placebo, but we really don't know. Well, I feel like I have a responsibility to be in the trial, and yeah, I would love to be the beneficiary. But that wasn't the Main reason. Well I certainly have area expectation that there will be some happy ending to it. It may not be a cure, but that at the end of the four years, Peter is still Peter. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5614803/anticholinergic-drugs-dementia-risk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5614803/anticholinergic-drugs-dementia-risk/"},"headline":"Despite the Headlines, We Don't Yet Know If Anticholinergic Drugs Contribute to Dementia Risk","datePublished":"2019-06-26T16:34:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:43.422Z","description":"A large study found a link between certain widely used anticholinergic drugs and a higher risk of dementia. 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