{"id":3243,"date":"2025-11-27T17:08:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/?p=3243"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:08:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:08:40","slug":"common-pain-medication-linked-to-higher-dementia-risk-new-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/common-pain-medication-linked-to-higher-dementia-risk-new-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Pain Medication Linked to Higher Dementia Risk, New Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millions of Americans rely on\u00a0<strong>gabapentin<\/strong>\u00a0for chronic back pain \u2014 but a major new study suggests there may be a hidden danger: a significantly higher risk of\u00a0<strong>dementia and cognitive problems<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers from&nbsp;<strong>Case Western Reserve University<\/strong>, analyzing medical records from&nbsp;<strong>68 U.S. health systems<\/strong>, compared&nbsp;<strong>26,414 adults taking gabapentin<\/strong>&nbsp;for chronic low-back pain with a similar group who didn\u2019t use the drug. The results were eye-opening:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adults with\u00a0<strong>six or more prescriptions<\/strong>\u00a0were\u00a0<strong>29% more likely to develop dementia<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>85% more likely to experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI)<\/strong>\u00a0within 10 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Younger adults faced the biggest risk:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ages 35\u201349 saw\u00a0<strong>more than double the dementia risk<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>over triple the MCI risk<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ages 50\u201364 also had elevated risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only those 18\u201334 showed no significant increase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study, published in&nbsp;<strong>Regional Anesthesia &amp; Pain Medicine<\/strong>, emphasizes the need for careful monitoring of patients on long-term gabapentin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continue reading on next page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>More Prescriptions, Higher Risk<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers noted a clear pattern:&nbsp;<strong>the more you take, the higher the risk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">12+ prescriptions:\u00a0<strong>40% higher chance of dementia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">12+ prescriptions:\u00a0<strong>65% higher chance of MCI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These findings held even after accounting for age, other health conditions, and medications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why the Green Ring Isn\u2019t the Whole Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabapentin has been around since the 1990s, originally approved for epilepsy. Over the years, it became a go-to for\u00a0<strong>nerve pain, chronic back pain, post-shingles pain, and restless leg syndrome<\/strong>, often seen as a\u00a0<strong>safer alternative to opioids<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many gabapentin users also have limited mobility \u2014 another factor linked to dementia. However, this study matched patients for mobility, suggesting the drug itself may contribute to cognitive changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This isn\u2019t a call to panic \u2014 but it&nbsp;<strong>does highlight the importance of awareness<\/strong>. Experts recommend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Regular cognitive check-ins with your doctor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discussing alternatives or adjusting dosage if possible<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoiding long-term use unless absolutely necessary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabapentin remains safer than many other pain medications, but informed choices are essential. As the study concludes:&nbsp;<em>\u201cOur findings indicate an association between gabapentin prescription and dementia or cognitive impairment within 10 years.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Are you or a loved one taking gabapentin?<\/strong>&nbsp;Talk to your doctor, monitor cognitive health, and share your experiences in the comments below \u2014 staying informed is the first step toward safer pain management.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of Americans rely on\u00a0gabapentin\u00a0for chronic back pain \u2014 but a major new study suggests there may be a hidden&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3243"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3245,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243\/revisions\/3245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}