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Off‐Label Prescribing of Second‐Generation Antipsychotics to Elderly Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Dementia
Author(s) -
Semla Todd P.,
Lee Austin,
Gurrera Ronald,
Bajor Laura,
Li Mingfei,
Miller Donald R.,
Smith Eric G.,
Wang Chao,
Wan Yun,
Kazis Lewis E.,
Bauer Mark S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/jgs.14897
Subject(s) - medicine , dementia , odds ratio , psychiatry , veterans affairs , confidence interval , population , logistic regression , comorbidity , disease , environmental health
Objectives To determine whether elderly veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) and dementia are more likely to be prescribed second‐generation antipsychotics ( SGA s) than those with PTSD alone. Design National serial cross‐sectional study. Setting Veterans Health Affairs inpatient and outpatient settings. Participants Veterans aged 65 and older with PTSD (excluding schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) with or without concomitant dementia who received care from the Veterans Health Administration between 2003 and 2010 were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision , codes (N = 93,068; 11.1% with dementia). Measurements Trends in SGA prescribing and odds of being prescribed an SGA were determined using a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for clinical, sociodemographic, and geographic covariates. Results Between 2004 and 2009, SGA prescribing declined annually from 7.0% to 5.1% of elderly veterans with PTSD without dementia and 13.2% to 8.9% in those with dementia; findings over time consistently indicated that veterans with PTSD and dementia had at least twice the odds of being prescribed an SGA as those without PTSD (odds ratios 2.03 (95% confidence interval ( CI ) = 1.82–2.26) to 2.33 (95% CI = 2.10–2.58). Conclusion Although the prescribing of SGA s to elderly veterans with PTSD has decreased, prescribing an SGA to those with dementia remained consistently higher than for those with PTSD alone and is problematic given the high prevalence of medical comorbidities in this aging population coupled with the lack of compelling evidence for effectiveness of SGA s in individuals with dementia.