Cognitive decline and psychotropic drug use in elderly people with mental disorders: a narrative review
International Journal of Development Research
Cognitive decline and psychotropic drug use in elderly people with mental disorders: a narrative review
Received 27th October, 2018; Received in revised form 16th November, 2018; Accepted 13th December, 2018; Published online 30th January, 2019
Copyright © 2019, Karina Cestari de Oliveira and Paulo Roberto Haidamus de Oliveira Bastos. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The growth in the number of older persons in the population is considered a worldwide phenomenon, with direct consequences in health systems. The pertinent literature points out an increase in the diagnosis of mental disorders and the prescription of psychotropic drugs for that population, as well as frequent complaints regarding cognition. The paper aims to discuss cognitive decline and its relationship with psychotropic drug use in aged people with mental disorders. The data collection method was based on the review of books and papers published between 2000 and 2018. Although, on the one hand, the studies show that psychotropic drugs are an effective strategy in the treatment of mental disorders, on the other hand, they indicate that a high intake maybe unfavorable, due to the predisposition or the worsening of cognitive decline, thus reflecting on aged people’s quality of life.
