The Prevalence of Atypical Antipsychotics, Antidepressants, and Benzodiazepines Use in Dementia Patients in King Abdulaziz Medical City

Background Dementia is a major neuropsychiatric disease defined by a progressive decline in cognitive functions. Atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines are mainly prescribed for dementia. Many dementia pharmacological management options are associated with serious health risks. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of antipsychotic, antidepressant, and benzodiazepine use in dementia patients in King Abdulaziz Medical City. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital (King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah) between December 2016 and January 2019. The participants were patients over the age of 65 years diagnosed with dementia. Data were collected from the medical records of the hospital after acquiring ethical approval. Patients with psychiatric diseases preceding the diagnosis of dementia, or patients with dementia-like symptoms as a side effect of any medications were excluded. The variables included were demographics, dementia subtypes, medications, and the presence or absence of chronic diseases. Results This study included 139 patients of whom 51.1% were males. The mean age was 82.8 ± 8.8 years. Moreover, 34.53% of the patients were prescribed medications for dementia management. Importantly, medications prescribed for dementia were classified as the following: atypical antipsychotics (20.86%), antidepressants (17.3%), and benzodiazepines (5%). The most commonly prescribed atypical antipsychotics were quetiapine (93.1%), risperidone (13.8%), and olanzapine (3.44%). For antidepressants, the most commonly prescribed medications for dementia were mirtazapine (62.5%), citalopram (45.8%), amitriptyline (8.3%), and paroxetine (4.2%). Moreover, most prescriptions for benzodiazepine were divided between lorazepam (71.4%), clonazepam (14.3%), and diazepam (14.3%). Conclusions This study’s results were consistent with previous epidemiological studies that have been conducted worldwide regarding the increase in the use of antipsychotics and antidepressants, with the exception of benzodiazepines. To our knowledge, there is a lack of research regarding the medications prescribed in the geriatrics age group with dementia. Therefore, the outcomes of this study recommend initiating awareness campaigns among physicians, regarding the harm of using antipsychotics, especially for this age group. Lastly, future studies should focus on increased surveillance and evaluation of drug safety warnings in dementia patients to improve the outcomes of the intervention.