This secondary analysis examined the relationship between the total anticholinergic load and scores on cognitive tests in 94 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, and studies have shown that it is a strong predictor of functional outcomes in this population. Anticholinergic medications have been demonstrated to have a negative impact on cognition. Some antipsychotic medications have anticholinergic properties, and anticholinergic medications are often prescribed to patients with schizophrenia to treat or prevent extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotics. We did not find any significant correlations between anticholinergic load as measured by benztropine equivalents and any of the MATRICS cognitive tests. In addition there were no significant differences in the mean scores of subjects in the highest anticholinergic quartile and subjects in the lowest anticholinergic quartile. These same analyses were performed comparing chlorpromazine equivalents and again there were no statistically significant results. Our results suggest that the anticholinergic load or dose of antipsychotic medication do not significantly contribute to cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The relatively small sample size was inadequate to detect a small difference.
","abstract_html":"<p>This secondary analysis examined the relationship between the total anticholinergic load and scores on cognitive tests in 94 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, and studies have shown that it is a strong predictor of functional outcomes in this population. Anticholinergic medications have been demonstrated to have a negative impact on cognition. Some antipsychotic medications have anticholinergic properties, and anticholinergic medications are often prescribed to patients with schizophrenia to treat or prevent extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotics. We did not find any significant correlations between anticholinergic load as measured by benztropine equivalents and any of the MATRICS cognitive tests. In addition there were no significant differences in the mean scores of subjects in the highest anticholinergic quartile and subjects in the lowest anticholinergic quartile. These same analyses were performed comparing chlorpromazine equivalents and again there were no statistically significant results. Our results suggest that the anticholinergic load or dose of antipsychotic medication do not significantly contribute to cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The relatively small sample size was inadequate to detect a small difference.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Underwood, Catherine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Yale University School of Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lawrence Scahill"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:16:00Z","subjects":["anticholinergic, benztropine, chlorpromazine, cognition, Psychiatric-Mental Health, schizophrenia"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysndt/1016","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lawrence Scahill"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Underwood, Catherine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Yale University School of Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anticholinergic, benztropine, chlorpromazine, cognition, Psychiatric-Mental Health, schizophrenia"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysndt/1016"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This secondary analysis examined the relationship between the total anticholinergic load and scores on cognitive tests in 94 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, and studies have shown that it is a strong predictor of functional outcomes in this population. Anticholinergic medications have been demonstrated to have a negative impact on cognition. Some antipsychotic medications have anticholinergic properties, and anticholinergic medications are often prescribed to patients with schizophrenia to treat or prevent extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotics. We did not find any significant correlations between anticholinergic load as measured by benztropine equivalents and any of the MATRICS cognitive tests. In addition there were no significant differences in the mean scores of subjects in the highest anticholinergic quartile and subjects in the lowest anticholinergic quartile. These same analyses were performed comparing chlorpromazine equivalents and again there were no statistically significant results. Our results suggest that the anticholinergic load or dose of antipsychotic medication do not significantly contribute to cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The relatively small sample size was inadequate to detect a small difference.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Anticholinergic Impact On Cognition In Schizophrenia"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lawrence Scahill"],"dc:creator":["Underwood, Catherine"],"dc:description.abstract":["This secondary analysis examined the relationship between the total anticholinergic load and scores on cognitive tests in 94 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, and studies have shown that it is a strong predictor of functional outcomes in this population. Anticholinergic medications have been demonstrated to have a negative impact on cognition. Some antipsychotic medications have anticholinergic properties, and anticholinergic medications are often prescribed to patients with schizophrenia to treat or prevent extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotics. We did not find any significant correlations between anticholinergic load as measured by benztropine equivalents and any of the MATRICS cognitive tests. In addition there were no significant differences in the mean scores of subjects in the highest anticholinergic quartile and subjects in the lowest anticholinergic quartile. These same analyses were performed comparing chlorpromazine equivalents and again there were no statistically significant results. Our results suggest that the anticholinergic load or dose of antipsychotic medication do not significantly contribute to cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The relatively small sample size was inadequate to detect a small difference.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysndt/1016"],"dc:subject":["anticholinergic, benztropine, chlorpromazine, cognition, Psychiatric-Mental Health, schizophrenia"],"dc:title":["Anticholinergic Impact On Cognition In Schizophrenia"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Yale University School of Nursing"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:16:00Z"}