Rates of new indication for antithrombotic drugs in people with cognitive impairment: implications for anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody treatment

Objectives Antithrombotic drugs—anticoagulants and thrombolytics— may interact with anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to increase intracranial hemorrhage risk, so expert guidance recommends against their co-prescription. We aimed to estimate how many people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia develop a new cardiovascular indication for antithrombotic drugs. Methods In a longitudinal cohort of adults ≥65 years old from the Health and Retirement Study (2010-2020) with linked Medicare claims and no prior indication for anticoagulants, cognition was categorized as normal, MCI, or dementia. We fit Fine-Gray separate survival models accounting for competing risk of death to estimate 1-year incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), acute myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. Results Among 12,373 participants (mean age 73 years, 59% female), for MCI, 1-year incidence was 1.7% for AF, 1.2% for DVT, 0.4% for PE, 1.2% for AMI, 2.0% for stroke, and 5.7% for any indication. In dementia, 1-year rates were 1.7% for AF, 1.8% for DVT, 0.3% for PE, 1.0% for AMI, 2.4% for stroke, and 6.7% for any indication. Discussion Our finding inform shared decision-making about the tradeoffs of anti-amyloid mAbs.