SynthesisJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2026
Anticholinergic Medication Burden Scales: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Feasibility and Acceptability of a Collaborative Deprescribing Intervention to Reduce Anticholinergic Burden Among Hospitalised Older Patients.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Anticholinergic Burden in Individuals with Down Syndrome: An Examination of Risk and Clinical Implications.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- Treatment of Parkinson's Disease-Related Psychosis.Clinical pharmacology : advances and applications · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnticholinergic burden refers to the cumulative anticholinergic effect of all medications taken by an individual. Anticholinergic burden scales help identify patients at risk of anticholinergic adverse effects and guide prescribing. However, substantial variation exists between scales, with no gold standard identified. This variability may contribute to inconsistent risk assessment, suboptimal prescribing, and adverse outcomes.
aimTo systematically review available anticholinergic burden scales and their variability in medication lists, development strategies and scoring methods. As a secondary objective, the clinical outcomes associated with each scale were summarized.
methodsA systematic search was conducted up to January 2025. Studies proposing novel or updated anticholinergic burden scales were included. Two reviewers independently performed study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment, using a custom tool based on expert consensus and principles of scale development. Findings were narratively synthesized.
resultsFrom 10,969 identified records, 21 studies met inclusion criteria. Medications included per scale ranged from 27 to 217, with 74% of high-potency drugs scored inconsistently. Variability was influenced by geographical origin and methodology, with literature review followed by expert opinion the most common method of development. Dosage consideration, among others, was inconsistent across scales, affecting clinical relevance. Clinical outcome studies reflected such inconsistencies.
conclusionNo gold standard anticholinergic burden scale was identified. Scales with broader drug coverage and accounting for individual variability appeared more clinically relevant. This review highlights the need for a clinically accessible, universal scoring system to better address the risks associated with anticholinergic polypharmacy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.