Cholinesterase inhibitors for patients with dementia: Patterns of prescribing and disparities in treatment.
Cholinesterase inhibitors for patients with dementia: Patterns of prescribing and disparities in treatment.
Where did the research take place?
The study site has not been established. Author addresses may differ from where the research occurred.
US · Author affiliation · country only
Department of Neurology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.Location evidence
Minneapolis, US · Author affiliation
HealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, MN, USA.Location evidence
Belfast, GB · Author affiliation
Centre for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences Belfast B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.Location evidence
IE · Author affiliation · country only
Centre for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences Belfast B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.Location evidence
Golden Valley, US · Author affiliation
HealthPartners Struthers Parkinson's Center, Golden Valley, MN, USA.Location evidence
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Original abstract
BackgroundCholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are cornerstones of the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and are also prescribed for vascular dementia (VaD). Despite their widespread use, patterns of ChEI prescribing are unclear.ObjectiveOur objective was to examine the prevalence, timing, and types of ChEI prescriptions before and after dementia diagnosis.MethodsWe analyzed electronic health record and claims data for patients diagnosed with AD, DLB, or VaD between October 2015 and August 2022 from a large U.S. healthcare system. ChEI claims (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine) were identified in the ±3 years surrounding dementia diagnosis. Repeated measures logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of ChEI fills by time-period, dementia type, and time x dementia type interaction to determine if change in prescription patterns significantly differed by diagnosis.ResultsAmong 3166 eligible patients, DLB had the highest prevalence of ChEIs both pre-and post-diagnosis compared to patients with AD and VaD. Post-diagnosis, donepezil was the most common, while galantamine use was sparse. After adjusting for demographics, patients with VaD had lower rates of ChEIs relative to AD (OR: 0.34, 95% CI 0.26-0.45). In the fully adjusted model, females (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71-0.91) and patients from ethnoracially minoritized populations (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.62-0.88) were less likely to fill ChEI prescriptions.ConclusionsDonepezil was the most frequently filled ChEI across dementias. Patients with DLB had the highest prevalence of ChEIs pre- and post-diagnosis. The potential disparities in treatment we identified should be investigated further.