Prescription Opioids Correlate With Declines in Long-term Cognitive Function Among OAs

Small but statistically significant declines in long-term cognitive function among older adults (OAs) was associated with prescription opioid use, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Researchers analyzed the association between prescription opioids, global and domain-specific cognitive function, and mild cognitive impairment as part of an analysis of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, a longitudinal population-based cohort study of OAs who underwent cognitive evaluations and formal neuropsychological testing every 15 months.

Of the 4218 participants included in the study, 51% were male, median age 76 years, and enrollment took place between November 1, 2004, and April 1, 2019.

At median follow up of 7.5 years, at least 1 opioid prescription was received by 2977 OAs (71%).

An estimated 0.096 reduction in the global cognitive Z-score per year, including decreases of 0.112 in attention, 0.080 in language, 0.050 in memory, and 0.044 in visual-spatial cognition were observed by researchers.

 “In multivariable analyses, each receipt of an opioid prescription resulted in an additional -0.007 (95% CI -0.009, -0.005) change in global cognitive Z-score (P < .001), with significant effects seen in the domains of memory (-0.005, 95% CI -0.007, -0.003; P < .001), language (-0.002, 95% CI -0.003, 0.000; P = .024) and attention (-0.004, 95% CI -0.006, -0.002; P < .001) but not visual–spatial function (0.000, 95% CI -0.001, 0.001; P = 0.897),” wrote researchers.

Results showed incident mild cognitive impairment in adjusted analysis (hazard ratio 1.21, 95% CI 1.04, 1.42; P = .014) was connected with opioid prescriptions.

Researchers concluded that the decline in long-term cognitive function among OAs may represent effects of opioids or other related factors.

Reference:
Warner NS, Hanson AC, Schulte PJ, Haberman EB, Warner DO, Mielke MM. Prescription opioids and longitudinal changes in cognitive function in older adults: a population-based observational study. J Am Geriatr Soc. Published online September 18, 2022. doi:10.1111/jgs.18030