Risk of Mortality Associated with Antipsychotic Monotherapy and Polypharmacy Among Community-Dwelling Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease

• Published in: Journal of Alzheimer's disease 2017-01, Vol.56 (1), p.107-118
• Main Authors: Koponen, Marjaana, Taipale, Heidi, Lavikainen, Piia, Tanskanen, Antti, Tiihonen, Jari, Tolppanen, Anna-Maija, Ahonen, Riitta, Hartikainen, Sirpa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - drug therapy; Alzheimer Disease - epidemiology; Alzheimer Disease - mortality; Alzheimer's disease; Antipsychotic Agents - adverse effects; Antipsychotics; Cancer; Cohort Studies; Communities; Confidence intervals; Death; Drugs; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Haloperidol; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Independent Living; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Neurodegenerative diseases; Polypharmacy; Proportional Hazards Models; Psychotropic drugs; Quetiapine; Registries; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Risperidone; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1387-2877; 1875-8908
• DOI: 10.3233/JAD-160671

We aimed to analyze the risk of non-cancer mortality according to duration of antipsychotic use and to compare the risk associated with polypharmacy and monotherapy among community-dwellers with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The risk of mortality between most frequently used antipsychotic drugs was compared. Data from a nationwide register-based MEDALZ study that included all 70,718 community-dwellers newly diagnosed with AD during 2005–2011 in Finland was utilized. Death, excluding cancer as direct cause of death, was extracted from Causes of Death Register. Incident antipsychotic use was compared with time without antipsychotics with Cox proportional hazard models. Antipsychotic use was associated with an increased risk of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.61; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.53–1.70). The absolute difference in mortality rate was 4.58 (95% CI 4.53–4.63) deaths per 100 person-years. The risk of mortality was increased from the first days of use and attenuated gradually but remained increased even after two years of use (aHR 1.30; 95% CI 1.16–1.46). Compared with nonuse, antipsychotic polypharmacy (aHR 2.88; 95% CI 2.38–3.49) was associated with an increased risk of mortality than monotherapy (aHR 1.57; 95% CI 1.49–1.66). Haloperidol was associated with higher risk of mortality (aHR 1.52; 95% CI 1.14–2.02) and quetiapine with lower risk (aHR 0.84; 95% CI 0.75–0.94) compared with risperidone. In conclusion, the findings support current treatment guidelines on having a high threshold for antipsychotic initiation among persons with AD. Antipsychotic polypharmacy and long-term use should be avoided and drug choice should be weighed against risk/benefit evidence.