New research published in The Lancet online finds that not only are dementia deaths up 79% (ONS figures—19th Oct) compared to previous years but the prescription rates of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia have also increased during COVID-19.
Although the absolute number of antipsychotic prescriptions for people with dementia decreased, reductions in the overall number of diagnosed dementia patients meant that the proportion of those who have been prescribed antipsychotics substantially increased.
The percentage of those prescribed antipsychotics was relatively stable throughout 2018 and 2019, between 9-28% and 9-47%.
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