Increase in anticholinergic burden from 1990 to 2015: Age-period-cohort analysis in UK biobank.

The increase in anticholinergic prescribing is mostly due to an increase in polypharmacy and is attributable to both ageing of participants and period-related changes in prescribing practices. Research is needed to clarify the implications of rising anticholinergic use for public health and to contextualise this rise in light of other relevant prescribing practices.