Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prescription Opioids and Risk of Dementia or Cognitive Decline: A Prospective Cohort Study.
To determine whether prescription opioid use is associated with higher dementia risk or greater cognitive decline. ⋯ People with the heaviest opioid or NSAID use had slightly higher dementia risk than people with little or no use. These results may reflect an effect of chronic pain on cognition or residual confounding. Although opioids have other risks, little evidence of long-term cognitive harm specific to opioids was found.