Healthcare Insights
15 most common dementia medications
Dementia, which is an overall term for a range of memory loss and thinking ability conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, affects more than 55 million people around the world. With no current cure, dementia treatment includes managing symptoms through occupational therapy, behavior and environment changes, and medication.
Using data from the Definitive Healthcare ClaimsMx and ClaimsRx products, we analyzed the most common medication for dementia prescribed between January and November 2022. The dementia ICD-10 diagnosis codes used for analysis began with F02.
Top prescription drugs for dementia
| Rank | Medication name | Pharmacy class | % of dementia prescriptions | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DONEPEZIL HCL | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 37.2% | Explore |
| 2 | MEMANTINE HCL | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 20.1% | Explore |
| 3 | QUETIAPINE FUMARATE | ANTIPSYCHOTICS, OTHERS | 7.2% | Explore |
| 4 | MEMANTINE HCL ER | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 3.4% | Explore |
| 5 | RISPERIDONE | ANTIPSYCHOTICS, OTHERS | 2.3% | Explore |
| 6 | RIVASTIGMINE | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 2.1% | Explore |
| 7 | SERTRALINE HCL | SSRI (SEL. SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITOR) | 1.7% | Explore |
| 8 | MIRTAZAPINE | ANTIDEPRESSANT-TRICYCLICS &TETRACYCLICS | 1.6% | Explore |
| 9 | NAMENDA XR | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 1.4% | Explore |
| 10 | OLANZAPINE | ANTIPSYCHOTICS, OTHERS | 1.4% | Explore |
| 11 | NAMZARIC | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 1.3% | Explore |
| 12 | RIVASTIGMINE | ALZHEIMER-TYPE DEMENTIA | 1.3% | Explore |
| 13 | TRAZODONE HCL | NEWER GENERATION ANTI-DEPRESSANTS | 1.3% | Explore |
| 14 | ESCITALOPRAM OXALATE | SSRI (SEL. SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITOR) | 1.1% | Explore |
| 15 | DIVALPROEX SODIUM | SEIZURE DISORDERS | 1.0% | Explore |
Fig. 1. Data from the Definitive Healthcare ClaimsMx and Rx products. Claims data is sourced from multiple medical claims clearinghouses in the United States and updated monthly. Accessed December 2022.
What is the most common drug prescribed for dementia?
Donepezil and memantine are the most prescribed medications for patients with dementia based on data in our Claims products, accounting for more than half of the drugs on the list. Both are FDA approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s.
Several antipsychotic and antidepressant medications also appear on the list. They are used to help treat some dementia symptoms but also carry risks to older patients.
What is dementia?
The term dementia covers many loss of memory, language, and problem-solving conditions that affect a patient’s everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease in the leading cause of dementia and accounts for 60% to 80% of dementia cases.
The main types of dementia include:
- Alzheimer’s disease: progressive neurologic disorder where the brain shrinks and brain cells die.
- Dementia with Lewy bodies: progressive dementia where protein deposits, also known as Lewy bodies, develop in the brain and lead to declines in mental abilities.
- Frontotemporal dementia: a group of disorders related to the frontal and temporal lodes of the brain that atrophy.
- Vascular dementia: reason, memory, and planning problems that result from blood flow impairments and brain damage.
- Mixed dementia: more than one type of dementia that occur simultaneously.
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