Discontinuation tied to lower risk for fall-related injury<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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MONDAY, Dec. 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Discontinuing cholinesterase inhibitors upon memantine initiation is not associated with an increased risk for long-term care institutionalization among older adults with dementia, according to a study published online Nov. 19 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Yu-Chien Lee, M.D., M.P.H., from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taoyuan, Taiwan, and colleagues examined the association of cholinesterase inhibitor discontinuation and long-term care institutionalization among older adults with dementia who initiate memantine. The analysis included claims data (2014 through 2019) for 16,292 Medicare beneficiaries who initiated memantine.<\/p>\n The researchers found that when propensity-matching a cohort of 3,612 beneficiaries, over one year, long-term care institutionalization occurred in 2.8 percent of beneficiaries who discontinued cholinesterase inhibitors versus 3.4 percent of beneficiaries who continued, with no statistically significant difference in the one-year mean institutionalization-free days between the discontinuation and continuation groups (360.6 versus 359.1 days; mean difference, 1.5 days). Similarly, there were no mean differences in long-term care institutionalization-free days by age category, sex, dementia type, frailty, or dementia stage. There was a lower rate of fall-related injury in individuals who discontinued (0.9 versus 2.0 per 100 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.47; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.25 to 0.88). There was no difference between the groups for all-cause death (10.4 versus 11.6 per 100 person-years; HR, 0.89; 95 percent CI, 0.72 to 1.10).<\/p>\n “These findings offer valuable insights for clinicians aiming to reduce treatment burden in this population,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed ties to Alosa Health and VillageMD.<\/p>\n