- adults ≥55.
Geriatrics experts now recommend reviewing and reducing total anticholinergic exposure whenever feasible, because higher cumulative burden correlates with falls, delirium, and dementia risk.
Which Everyday Medicines Carry Anticholinergic Load?
Examples (not a complete list):
- Sleep/allergy: diphenhydramine (“PM” sleep aids), doxylamine; many first-generation antihistamines
- Bladder: oxybutynin, tolterodine, solifenacin
- Depression/nerve pain (older agents): amitriptyline, imipramine, paroxetine
- Motion sickness/IBS/anti-nausea: scopolamine, meclizine, some antispasmodics
Because anticholinergic effects add up across all your medicines, even a few “mild” agents together can produce a high burden. The AGS Beers Criteria (
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