BMC Med. 2026 Feb 28. doi: 10.1186/s12916-026-04751-w. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Drugs with anticholinergic properties are commonly used in older adults for various medical conditions, but the long-term cardiovascular consequences of cumulative exposure have not been well established. This study aims to examine whether cumulative anticholinergic drug burden is associated with incident cardiovascular events.
METHODS: The large population-based cohort study included 508,273 Stockholm residents aged ≥ 45 years on January 1, 2008, who had no history of major cardiovascular diseases, with follow-up until December 31, 2021. Anticholinergic burden was assessed using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale and quantified as annual consumption in defined daily doses (DDDs). Inverse probability-weighted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the weighted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the associations between both baseline and time-varying exposure and incident cardiovascular events, overall and by disease subtypes.
RESULTS: A total of 118,266 incident cardiovascular events were recorded during a median follow-up of 14.0 years. Higher levels of anticholinergic drug exposure were significantly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events after adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical risk factors in both baseline and time-updated models, with stronger associations observed in the latter. In the time-updated model, the HR (95% CI) increased with annual cumulative exposure: 1.16 (1.13, 1.20) for 1-89 DDDs, 1.31 (1.28, 1.34) for 90-364 DDDs, and 1.71 (1.67, 1.76) for ≥ 365 DDDs. A significant dose-response relationship was observed across event subtypes. In the highest exposure group, the HR (95% CI) was 2.70 (2.57, 2.84) for heart failure, 2.17 (2.08, 2.27) for arrhythmias, 1.48 (1.34, 1.63) for artery disease, 1.32 (1.21, 1.43) for venous thromboembolism, 1.46 (1.37, 1.55) for myocardial infarction, and 1.32 (1.25, 1.39) for cerebrovascular disease. Results were consistent in subgroups and sensitivity analyses.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the potential cardiovascular harms of anticholinergic drug burden in middle-aged and older adults and underscore the need for careful prescribing and monitoring of such medications.
PMID:41761231 | DOI:10.1186/s12916-026-04751-w