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A top 10 commonly prescribed drug linked to dementia
Gabapentin is a seizure medication that many doctors prescribe off-label for low back pain. It’s seen as a much safer, nonaddictive alternative to the addictive opioids that have wreaked havoc on so many lives and communities.
However, as is so often the case with medications, the truth is somewhat murkier. The gabapentinoid class of drugs, which includes gabapentin, has been associated with a 30 percent higher risk of hip fracture.
And some of the possible side effects of gabapentin use include fatigue, dizziness, headache, difficulty speaking, memory loss, movement problems and unusual eye movements and double vision.
All of that is disturbing enough. But for people who have taken gabapentin for years, an even more alarming side effect could be waiting for them…
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Gabapentin linked to increased cognitive impairment and dementia risk
A team of U.S. researchers examined real-time data from TriNetX, a health research network containing electronic health records from 60 U.S. healthcare organizations.
They studied the health records of adult patients who had and hadn’t been prescribed gabapentin for chronic low back pain between 2004 and 2024 (with 26,414 in each group). They took into account demographics, co-existing conditions and the use of other pain-relieving drugs.
The results were astonishing…
Those who had received six or more prescriptions for the drug were 29% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and 85% more likely to be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) within 10 years of their initial pain diagnosis.
What’s more, when the records were stratified by age, those between the ages of 18 and 64 who were prescribed gabapentin were more than twice as likely to develop either dementia or MCI than those who hadn’t recieved a prescription. That’s a lot younger than those normally considered at risk for those conditions.
When the younger cohort was broken down further, there was no heightened risk found among those between the ages of 18-34 who were prescribed the drug.
But for users between the ages of 35-49, the risks of dementia more than doubled — and MCI more than tripled. A similar pattern was found in those between the ages of 50 and 64.
There was also a correlation between risk and prescription frequency. Patients with 12 or more prescriptions were 40% more likely to develop dementia and 65% more likely to develop MCI than those prescribed between three and 11 times.
As recently as 2023, gabapentin was ranked #10 in a list of the top 50 most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S.
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A worrisome association
Because this is an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. The researchers also note they weren’t able to account for dose or length of gabapentin use.
However, they conclude, “Our findings indicate an association between gabapentin prescription and dementia or cognitive impairment within 10 years. Moreover, increased gabapentin prescription frequency correlated with dementia incidence.”
These findings provide “a foundation to further research whether gabapentin plays a causal role in the development of dementia and cognitive decline,” the investigators write in the study.
In the meantime, they say their observations “support the need for close monitoring of adult patients prescribed gabapentin to assess for potential cognitive decline.”
If you use gabapentin for pain or seizure control, you may want to talk to your doctor about whether you should switch to a different medication. Definitely don’t stop using it without speaking with your doctor first about an alternative.
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Sources:
Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks — Medical Xpress
Risk of dementia following gabapentin prescription in chronic low back pain patients — Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine
Does Gabapentin Raise Dementia Risk? — Medscape
The Top 50 Drugs Prescribed in the United States — Healthgrades
By Carolyn Gretton
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