Association Between Antipsychotic Medication Use and Dementia Risk in Patients With Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder

Objective To determine the association between antipsychotic prescriptions and incident dementia in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, Cox Proportional hazard models estimated the association between antipsychotic prescriptions and incident dementia in participants ≥50 years of age with a schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder diagnosis over 12 years. Confounding was controlled by E-balance. Results Cumulative dementia incidence was significantly greater among those with an antipsychotic prescription compared to those without (7.9% vs 5.5%, P < 0.0001). After controlling for confounding, antipsychotic prescriptions were associated with a 92% increased risk for dementia (HR = 1.92; 95% CI:1.13-3.27). This association was not significant among those aged ≥65 years. Antipsychotic prescription type (eg, first generation, yes or no) did not affect dementia risk but prescription number did. Conclusion Antipsychotic prescriptions were associated with almost twice the incidence of dementia compared to patients without in those with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder.