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

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