Antipsychotic drug utilisation and safety in older persons with dementia: an international pharmacoepidemiologic inquiry

The aging population of the world has consequences for public health, for example in the increasing prevalence of dementia. Since there are no pharmacological options to treat dementia or the psychiatric symptoms associated with it effectively, many prescribers recourse to antipsychotic drugs. These drugs are used to treat symptoms such as aggression, hallucinations and agitation in older persons with dementia. However, antipsychotics are often used off-label and inappropriately. It is therefore of great importance to understand and describe the use of these drugs in persons with dementia. The aim of this thesis precisely to quantify the use of antipsychotics in persons with dementia using healthcare databases and to explore related issues in depth, through literature reviews and exploratory analyses.