Association of changes in medication with the effectiveness of rehabilitation in older patients: a hospital-based observational study

Concerns persist regarding the negative impact of medications on rehabilitation outcomes; however, evidence on the effects of medication changes during rehabilitation remains limited and heterogeneous. In this study, we aimed to clarify the effects of medication changes on motor and cognitive function in older patients hospitalized for rehabilitation. This retrospective observational study included 229 Japanese patients aged 65 years or older who were hospitalized for rehabilitation over a median [interquartile range] duration of 76 [58–111] days. The effects of changes in the number of medications, anticholinergic cognitive burden scale (ACB) score, and number of benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZDs) on motor and cognitive functional independence measure (FIM) scores during hospitalization were examined. Decreases in the number of medications, ACB score, and number of BZDs were associated with increases in motor FIM score, and decreases in the number of medications and ACB score were associated with increases in cognitive FIM score. Additionally, pronounced beneficial effects of decreases in the number of medications and ACB scores on cognitive FIM score were observed in patients without musculoskeletal disease. Reducing the number of medications, particularly anticholinergics and BZDs, may positively impact rehabilitation in older adults.