Multi-morbidity, medications and mortality in people with dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A longitudinal study investigating multimorbidity, medications and mortality in people with dementia in Northern Ireland.
IRAS ID
272166
Contact name
Gerard Leavey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ulster University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 28 days
Research summary
In the United Kingdom, among people aged 65 years and over, the prevalence of dementia is 7.1% and with an ageing population, it has been estimated that there will be over 1 million people living with dementia in the United Kingdom by 2025 (Dementia UK: Update, 2014). In people with dementia, multimorbidity, commonly defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions, is associated with an accelerated decline in daily function (Melis et al., 2013). Comorbid conditions and polypharmacy (multiple medication use) are common in people with dementia (Browne et al., 2017; Clague et al., 2017). \n\nThere is some evidence to suggest that people with dementia and other comorbidities have increased health service use. For example, a retrospective cohort study using data on people with dementia from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) (n=4,999) in the United Kingdom found that 91.7% had one or more additional comorbidities (Browne et al., 2017). Furthermore, people (with dementia) with six or more comorbidities had higher rates of primary care consultations, prescriptions, hospitalisations and a higher risk of death (than people (with dementia) with two or three comorbidities) (Browne et al., 2017). Additionally, concerns have been raised by clincians and families about the efficacy of anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medication for the treatment of mood and agitation, respectively, in this population. Pain is often problematic, it is underdiagnosed and undertreated in this population (Hanson et al. 2018). Dening (2017) notes the repercussions of poor pain management can result in increasing levels of discomfort and distress, delirium, sedation and confusion. Inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications can occur, where behaviours resulting from the distress of pain are misinterpreted (Pryor & Clarke, 2017). However, evidence in these areas is limited. The proposed study will contribute to this area of research by investigating patterns in multimorbidity, trends/prevalence of medications and any trends in mortality in people with dementia in Northern Ireland.\n
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/YH/0334
Date of REC Opinion
30 Sep 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion