Association of Psychotropic and Opioid Medication Use With Physical Function in Hospitalized Older Adults With Dementia

To examine whether psychotropic medications (antipsychotics, sedatives, antiseizures, antidepressants, and anxiolytics) and opioids were associated with physical function in hospitalized older adults with dementia.

A secondary analysis was conducted using baseline data from the Function Focused Care for Acute Care Using the Evidence Integration Triangle randomized controlled trial (N = 368). It was hypothesized that when controlling for age, sex, race, comorbidities, cognitive function, and pain, use of psychotropic medications and opioids would be negatively associated with physical function.

Overall, 72.5% (n = 230) of participants used psychotropic medications and 18.8% (n = 69) used opioids. Neither was associated with physical function. However, comorbidities, cognition, and pain significantly influenced function, with fewer comorbidities, better cognition, and less pain linked to greater independence.

Findings support prior research showing lack of association between psychotropic medication and opioid use with physical function in hospitalized older adults with dementia; however, additional research may be necessary to investigate the importance of pain control in optimizing function in older adults with dementia.