Polypharmacy, anticholinergic burden and inflammation in relation to accelerated biological ageing.

Background Polypharmacy is an emerging public health issue in ageing populations, linked to various adverse outcomes, yet its effect on biological ageing remains unclear. This study investigated the associations of polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden with biological ageing and evaluated the medi...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Age & Ageing Vol. 55; no. 2; pp. 1 - 12
Autores principales: Wei, Kai, Chen, Chun, Sun, Shuimei, Li, Dongmei, Yang, Yanping, Liu, Yan, Zhang, Min, Hu, Kui, Chen, Qi
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Feb2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=192513176&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ssf
    uiTerm: 192513176
    longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        00020729
        AGA
      jtl: Age & Ageing
      issn: 00020729
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Feb2026
      vid: 55
      iid: 2
      pid: 622
      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
    artinfo:
      ui:
        192513176
        10.1093/ageing/afag048
      ppf: 1
      ppct: 11
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: Polypharmacy, anticholinergic burden and inflammation in relation to accelerated biological ageing.
      aug:
        au:
          Wei, Kai
          Chen, Chun
          Sun, Shuimei
          Li, Dongmei
          Yang, Yanping
          Liu, Yan
          Zhang, Min
          Hu, Kui
          Chen, Qi
        affil:
          Department of Pharmacy, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
          Department of Pharmacy, Guizhou Branch of Shanghai Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
          Department of Pharmacy, Beth Israel Lahey Health Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
          Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
      su:
        Cross-sectional method
        Aging
        Anthropometry
        Old age
        Parasympathomimetic agents
        Pearson correlation (Statistics)
        Research funding
        Multiple regression analysis
        Polypharmacy
        Descriptive statistics
        Glucuronidase
        Inflammation
        Factor analysis
        Confidence intervals
        Cell receptors
      sug:
        subj:
          Cross-sectional method
          Aging
          Anthropometry
          Old age
          Parasympathomimetic agents
          Pearson correlation (Statistics)
          Research funding
          Multiple regression analysis
          Polypharmacy
          Descriptive statistics
          Glucuronidase
          Inflammation
          Factor analysis
          Confidence intervals
          Cell receptors
      keyword:
        aging
        anticholinergic agents
        anticholinergic burden
        biological
        biological ageing
        copyrightHolder:British Geriatrics Society
        copyrightYear:2026
        https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag048
        inflammation
        inLanguage:en
        national health and nutrition examination survey
        older adult
        older people
        polypharmacy
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41804995/
        aging
        anticholinergic agents
        anticholinergic burden
        biological
        biological ageing
        copyrightHolder:British Geriatrics Society
        copyrightYear:2026
        https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag048
        inflammation
        inLanguage:en
        national health and nutrition examination survey
        older adult
        older people
        polypharmacy
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41804995/
      ab: Background Polypharmacy is an emerging public health issue in ageing populations, linked to various adverse outcomes, yet its effect on biological ageing remains unclear. This study investigated the associations of polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden with biological ageing and evaluated the mediating role of systemic inflammation. Methods We analysed data from the cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2018), including US adults aged 65 years or older taking at least one prescription medication. Polypharmacy (5–9 drugs) and hyperpolypharmacy (≥10 drugs) were defined by concurrent use. Anticholinergic burden was assessed via the Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS). Biological ageing was measured using phenotypic age (PhenoAge), Klemera–Doubal biological age (KD-BioAge), anthropometric age (AnthroAge), frailty index, telomere length and α-Klotho. Inflammation was quantified using five blood cell–based indices. Weighted multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were performed. Results Among 10 556 older adults, 35.0% had polypharmacy and 5.5% hyperpolypharmacy. Both polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden were significantly associated with accelerated biological ageing per PhenoAge, KD-BioAge, AnthroAge and frailty index, adjusting for confounders. Systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) partially mediated the associations of polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden with PhenoAge (17.3%–26.9%, both P  < .001) and KD-BioAge acceleration (9.8%–11.7%, both P  < .001), and the ADS–SIRI pathway serially mediated the associations between polypharmacy and PhenoAge (3.1%, P  = .003) or KD-BioAge acceleration (1.7%, P  = .005). Conclusions Both polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden are associated with accelerated biological ageing, partly mediated by inflammation, including a potential serial pathway. The findings underscore the importance of deprescribing to reduce ageing-related risks.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: N
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N