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Chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the elderly may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease according to a new study.

NSAIDs and dementia

NSAIDs and dementia

Chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the elderly may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease according to a new study. This is in contrast to previous studies that suggested that NSAIDs may actually be neuroprotective. The current study from Seattle looked at members of Group Health who were age ≥ 65 years (median, 74.8 years) and free of dementia. Patients were followed for up to 12 years to identify dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Of the 2736 patients studied, 351 (12.8%) were heavy users of NSAIDs at enrollment and another 107 became heavy users during follow-up. Over the course of the study 476 individuals developed dementia including 356 who developed Alzheimer's disease. Those defined as heavy NSAID users showed an increased incidence of dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-2.24) and Alzheimer's disease (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.10-2.23). The authors suggest that this study looked at an older cohort than previous studies. Decreased rates of dementia seen in the previous studies may have reflected a delay in onset of dementia, which may explain the increased incidence seen in the older patients in this study (Neurology 2009 April 22; epub ahead of print).