Conclusions
In the last 10 years, there has been a nearly 3-fold rise in the number
of prescription items for anti-dementia drugs. The rising trend in
primary care prescribing demonstrates greater participation of the
sector in the diagnosis and treatment of dementia in addition to
specialist psychiatry care. Least deprived regions have approximately
twice as high prescribing rate compared to most deprived regions. Higher
rates of prescribing in the least deprived areas may be reflective of
higher life expectancy, better diagnoses and access to treatment
compared to the most deprived areas. Such differences need to be
investigated further.