Rajender Aparasu is the chair of Department of Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy at the UH College of Pharmacy and has done some research on this class of drugs.
He said taking these drugs for a long time significantly increases the risk of dementia.
"It can be used for Parkinson’s, it can be used as an antihistamine, it can be used for depression, it can be used for psychosis," said Aparasum.
He said it's especially dangerous if the elderly are taking multiples of drugs for long periods of time.
"How many anticholinergic medicines are being used and what can be done to cut down on the number of anticholinergic because they increase the risk of dementia," said Aparasum.
People taking these medications should not to stop them as that could be harmful. They do need to talk to their physicians and pharmacists to manage them and use alternatives if necessary.