Abrupt discontinuation and tapering of antipsychotics in older adults with dementia: a target trial emulation study Olivia K Hopkinson, MSca ∙ Jan Chobanov, MSca ∙ Darshna Goordeen, GradDip[ClinPharm]b ∙ Kenneth K C Man, PhDa,c,d,e ∙ Prof Ian C K Wong, PhDa,c,d,e,f ∙ Emily Reeve, PhD

Abrupt discontinuation and tapering of antipsychotics in older adults with dementia: a target trial emulation study Olivia K Hopkinson, MSca ∙ Jan Chobanov, MSca ∙ Darshna Goordeen, GradDip[ClinPharm]b ∙ Kenneth K C Man, PhDa,c,d,e ∙ Prof Ian C K Wong, PhDa,c,d,e,f ∙ Emily Reeve, PhD https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(26)00036-X/fulltext?dgcid=hubspot_update_feature_updatealerts_lanhl&utm_campaign=update-lanhl&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--WhAA4PRnTM4nYtKANJVWBS1s1-oSxsGcNAunqBmBUiXobBoB8-hejqb009mBLN8m1XdmtKrAmeUHGSVmiE8O6PjDdQw&_hsmi=425952808&utm_content=425727608&utm_source=hs_email Antipsychotic use in people living with dementia has been linked to serious adverse outcomes. Guidelines recommend limiting antipsychotic treatment to short-term use (<12 weeks), followed by tapering and cessation. However, antipsychotic treatment in routine practice often exceeds the recommended duration. The effect of discontinuing antipsychotics on reducing adverse outcomes in practice remains unclear. We aimed to use linked primary and secondary care data in England to investigate whether tapering or abrupt discontinuation of antipsychotics, versus continuation, affected the risk of stroke, death, fracture, delirium, and pneumonia in people living with dementia.