Common drugs can mix for dire results
At least 2.2 million older adults in the U.S. take medicine in combinations that could trigger dangerous drug interactions, causing gastrointestinal bleeding, muscle breakdown, disruption in heart rhythm and other serious problems, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Half of the interactions involved over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin or dietary supplements.
Overall, 1 in 25 older adults risked serious drug interactions, the study found. For men ages 75 to 85, it was as high as 1 in 10.
Study author Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau said the risks might be even higher because the research focused only on major interactions among the 20 most common drugs and dietary supplements.
“The public has an awareness that two prescription medications used together might be dangerous,” said Lindau, assistant professor of geriatric medicine, obstetrics and gynecology at University of Chicago Medical Center. “But what people don’t fully appreciate is that nonprescription drugs can interact with prescription drugs and even other nonprescription drugs.”
In the study, published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Assn., the most common problematic combination of nonprescription drugs was ginkgo biloba and aspirin. Taking the two together can increase the risk of internal bleeding, Lindau said.
Adults 65 and older account for about 175,000 visits to the emergency room annually for drug complications, and bleeding is frequently the symptom that brings them to the hospital, Lindau said.
The researchers used data collected for the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative survey of adults 57 to 85 administered between July 2005 and March 2006. They also interviewed about 3,000 adults 65 and older at home, asking them about the drugs they used regularly.
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