Effect of discontinuing antipsychotic medications on the risk of hospitalization in long-term care: a machine learning-based analysis

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11110%2F25%3A10505697" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11110/25:10505697 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11160/25:10505697

Result on the web

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=9NU757t1N" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=9NU757t1N</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-04304-7" target="_blank" >10.1186/s12916-025-04304-7</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Effect of discontinuing antipsychotic medications on the risk of hospitalization in long-term care: a machine learning-based analysis

Original language description

Background Antipsychotic medications are frequently prescribed to older residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) despite their limited efficacy and considerable safety risks. While discontinuation of these drugs might help reduce their associated morbidity, the impact of stopping antipsychotics on the risk of hospitalization has not been studied yet. The study aimed at estimating the effect of antipsychotic discontinuation on the risk of hospitalization in older LTCF residents and at identifying relevant factors influencing such effect. Methods For this registry-based retrospective cohort study, data from a cohort of older LTCF residents in Finland from the years 2014 to 2018 was analyzed. Data sources were the Resident Assessment Instrument for Long-Term Care (RAI-LTC) based comprehensive geriatric assessments and the Finnish Care Register for Health Care. For the initial cohort, 5467 users of antipsychotic medications with at least four assessments, each conducted 6 months apart, were selected. Residents were defined either as discontinuing, if antipsychotics were prescribed at the first two assessments but not at the last two, or as chronic users, if antipsychotics were prescribed at all four assessments. Causal machine learning (ML) methods including double machine learning (DML), double robust (DR), X-learner, and causal forest (CF) were applied to estimate the effect of antipsychotic discontinuation on the risk of hospitalization and to identify factors influencing such effect. The follow-up time was 1 year. The methods of SHAP values (SHapley Additive exPlanations), partial dependence plots (PDP), and surrogate models were used for model interpretation. Results Nearly 43% of residents in the study discontinued antipsychotic medications. Antipsychotic discontinuation lowered the probability of hospitalization of about 12% (average treatment effect, ATE). The individual treatment effect (ITE) estimations ranged from -30% to +1%. The use of restraints, age, and functional impairment were relevant variables in all ITE models in influencing the predicted ITE. Conclusions Antipsychotic discontinuation may decrease the likelihood of hospitalization among older LTCF residents, benefiting most users of these drugs. Promoting antipsychotic discontinuation may prevent hospitalizations and reduce morbidity and mortality in long-term care.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

30104 - Pharmacology and pharmacy

Project

<a href="/en/project/EH22_008%2F0004607" target="_blank" >EH22_008/0004607: New Technologies for Translational Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences /NETPHARM</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

BMC Medicine

ISSN

1741-7015

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

23

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

484

UT code for WoS article

001553790500005

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105013564261