Central nervous system drug consumption depending on the time between symptom onset and the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: an analysis by the Registry of Dementias of Girona

Abstract

Aims: To describe central nervous system (CNS) drug consumption patterns depending on the time to diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and to check whether the cases diagnosed later are associated with greater severity and consuming more CNS drugs.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using 952 cases of the Registry of Dementias of Girona. A binary logistic regression was used to detect variables associated with the use of CNS drugs depending on the time to diagnosis.

Results: CNS drugs were consumed by 95.8% of the AD patients. Only antipsychotics presented a statistically significant increase in the frequency of prescription to patients with longer time elapsed from symptom onset to AD diagnosis.

Conclusion: Longer time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to the diagnosis resulted in increased probability of antipsychotic consumption.