Effectiveness And Safety Of Focused Deprescribing Interventions Targeting Specific Drug Classes In Older Adults Across Clinical Settings: An Umbrella Systematic Literature Review

Age Ageing. 2026 Aug 3;55(8):afag243. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afag243.

ABSTRACT

Polypharmacy is highly prevalent among older adults and is associated with adverse outcomes. While comprehensive medication review is widely promoted to address potentially inappropriate prescribing, it is resource intensive. Focused deprescribing-defined as the targeted withdrawal or dose reduction of specific drug classes-has emerged as a potentially more scalable strategy. This umbrella review synthesised evidence on the effectiveness and safety of drug class-specific focused deprescribing interventions in older adults. We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews evaluating focused deprescribing interventions targeting specific pharmacological classes. MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched from inception to March 2025. Study selection, data extraction and methodological quality assessment (AMSTAR-2) were performed independently by two reviewers. Findings were synthesised narratively by drug class and outcome domain, and overlap was assessed using the Corrected Covered Area. Twenty-seven systematic reviews were included. Most focused on psychotropics, particularly benzodiazepines, and anticholinergics, with fewer assessing antidiabetics or fall-risk increasing drugs. Reductions in medication use were most consistent for benzodiazepines and other psychotropics, especially when interventions included psychotherapy or multifaceted components. Evidence for antidiabetics suggested feasibility and safety, whereas effects on anticholinergics and fall-risk increasing drugs were limited. Clinical outcomes, including mortality, falls and cognition, were inconsistently reported and rarely improved. Most reviews were rated as critically low quality, and certainty of evidence was generally low or very low. Focused deprescribing appears feasible and generally safe for reducing selected potentially inappropriate medications in older adults; however, its clinical benefits are drug class-dependent and remain uncertain.

PMID:42607278 | DOI:10.1093/ageing/afag243