https://goo.gl/5lKlbZ
Antipsychotic medications are associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to new research from the University of Eastern Finland. The risk of pneumonia was the highest at the beginning of antipsychotic treatment, remaining elevated also in long-term use. No major differences were observed between the most commonly used antipsychotics.
Pneumonia was listed as one of the leading causes of death in the FDA’s 2005 warning on the use of antipsychotics for the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Since then, antipsychotics have been linked to an increased risk of pneumonia in in several studies, but studies among persons with dementia have been scarce. However, almost one third of Finns with Alzheimer’s disease use antipsychotic medication.