ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuroepidemiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1616851
This article is part of the Research TopicLeveraging Big Data Mining to Advance Neurological ResearchView all articles
Association between Finasteride with Subjective Memory Deficits: A Study from the NHANES and FAERS Databases
Provisionally accepted
- Chengdu Seventh People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
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Postmarketing pharmacovigilance data have raised concerns regarding the potential cognitive effects associated with finasteride administration. However, existing epidemiological evidence remains inconclusive, with studies reporting both positive and null associations between finasteride exposure and memory dysfunction. This highlights the need for further comprehensive clinical investigations.This investigation employed a comprehensive, multi-source analytical approach to evaluate the potential correlation between finasteride administration and self-reported memory dysfunction, aiming to establish an evidence-based framework for clinical safety evaluation and therapeutic riskbenefit analysis.This study incorporated two principal data repositories: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2001-2018) and the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS, 2004-2018). A comprehensive analytical framework was implemented, incorporating descriptive statistics, multivariable logistic regression modeling, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to examine potential associations between finasteride exposure and cognitive performance metrics.Multivariable logistic regression analysis of the NHANES dataset, adjusted for demographic variables and lifestyle factors, revealed a significant positive correlation between finasteride exposure and memory impairment risk (adjusted OR = 6.15, 95% CI: 1.62-23.4, P = 0.008). Concurrent analysis of the FAERS database identified 6,624 finasteride-related adverse reports, with cognitive dysfunction (n=526) comprising a notable proportion of documented complications.Convergent evidence from both epidemiological studies and pharmacovigilance surveillance suggests a potential association between finasteride administration and cognitive dysfunction, particularly in memory-related domains. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive risk communication strategies regarding potential neurocognitive adverse effects during clinical consultations and for establishing routine cognitive monitoring protocols for patients undergoing prolonged finasteride therapy.
Keywords: event …eports, with cognitive dysfunction (n=526) comprisingrepresenting…a notable propos…tionubset .. Finasteride, Memory, NHANES, FAERS, Cognitive Function
Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Ou, Zhao, Luo, Zhang and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hua Huang, Chengdu Seventh People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
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