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Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT04270474

Reducing Risk of Dementia Through Deprescribing

A cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) called "Reducing Risk of Dementia through Deprescribing" (R2D2) to evaluate the impact of a deprescribing intervention on important cognitive and safety outcomes.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Dementia Alzheimer Disease Alzheimer Disease, Late Onset Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurocognitive Disorders Neurodegenerative Diseases Tauopathies

Age range

65 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Community Health Network Foundation, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

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About this study

The R2D2 study will test whether the adverse cognitive effects of anticholinergic medications are reversible by implementing a pharmacist-based deprescribing intervention for older adults within primary care practices. Two groups will be recruited: providers (physicians and advanced practice providers including nurse practitioners), and patients. Primary care providers of those prescribed eligible anticholinergic medications will be recruited for participation in the study, and their patients who also meet eligible criteria will be subsequently approached and recruited. Participants will be randomized to one of two groups: the deprescribing intervention group or usual care; the intervention group will receive a pharmacist-based deprescribing intervention, while the usual care group will receive care as usually provided by their primary and/or specialty care providers. The intervention and follow-up data collection will occur over 24 months in order to test the long-term impact of the intervention on the planned clinical outcomes. Study outcomes include cognition (primary) and safety (secondary) through validated self-reported scales.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

for Participants:

  • Age 65 and older;
  • At least one office visit to their primary care physician within the previous 12 months;
  • Use of a target anticholinergic medication within the last two weeks OR medical record evidence of exposure to target anticholinergic medications at or above a cognitive risk threshold in the prior 12 months
  • Able to communicate in English;
  • Access to a telephone

Exclusion criteria

for Participants:

  • Permanent resident of an extended care facility (nursing home)
  • Diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder defined by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) version 9/10 codes
  • Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or Related Dementia as determined by (a), (b), or (c) below:
  • ICD-9/10 codes, or
  • Current use of a medication for Alzheimer's Disease or a Related Dementia, or
  • A pattern of responses to the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) that indicate dementia (i.e., ≥ 3 FAQ items are scored at "requires assistance," or if ≥ 1 FAQ item is scored at "dependent").

Treatment and study plan

Deprescribing of target anticholinergics

Other

The active intervention group (ACT) will receive a pharmacist-based deprescribing intervention focused only on targeted anticholinergic medications. The intervention pharmacist will serve as the central source of communication between participants, providers, and (as needed) dispensing pharmacy to coordinate the deprescribing process. The study pharmacists will navigate a shared-decision model between the physicians and participant in order to personalize the selection of appropriate alternatives and switch/titration schedules. Importantly, the pharmacist will supervise the titration and deprescribing plan and communicate with both participants and physicians throughout the study.

Usual Care

Other

Those in the usual care group will not have access to the study intervention, but will receive a one-time information packet through the mail reviewing risks of polypharmacy, but no information specific to anticholinergic medications. They will receive clinical care as usually provided by their primary care or specialty care physicians.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Cognitive Composite Score

    Time frame: Baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months

    Cognitive composite scores will be collected from participants at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months and changes in the composite scores over time will be compared between the intervention and usual care groups. An overall cognitive composite score including measures of information processing speed, memory, and executive function will be conducted at each time point from the average of each measure's z-score, constructed by subtracting the mean baseline scores and dividing by the baseline standard deviation. The z-score transformation of the cognitive composite score will have a mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1 at baseline, with higher scores representing improvement in cognition.

  2. Change in Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS)

    Time frame: Baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months

    Participant self-reported, 4-item scales evaluating depression, anxiety, pain, and insomnia will be collected for each participant at each time point. Each PROMIS measure raw score can be converted to a T-score where 50 represents the general population norm for that symptom and each 10-point deviation represents one standard deviation (SD) from the population norm. Changes in the T-scores over time will be compared between the intervention and usual care groups.

  3. Change in Health Utilities Index (HUI)

    Time frame: Baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months

    Participant self-reported measure of health-related quality of life, evaluating domains including vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognitive function and pain. These attributes produce a single score on a standardized utility measure with individual health domain scores ranging from 0.00 (maximum impairment) to 1.00 (no impairment) and the multi-attribute (HUI) scores ranging from 0.36 to 1.00 with anchors 0.00 = dead and 1.00 = perfect health. HUI scores will be collected at each outcome assessment and change in HUI scores over time will be compared between the intervention and usual care groups.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Indiana University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Registry information

Official study title

Reducing Risk of Dementia Through Deprescribing (R2D2)

Acronym: R2D2

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Feb 17, 2020
Registry last updated
Apr 15, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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