Acetaminophen, also known as acetaminophen or brand name Tylenol, may carry additional health risks, according to a new study.

The drug, which is commonly used as a pain reliever or an ingredient in other medications, has been linked to an increased risk of ulcers, heart failure, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.

That’s according to a study by researchers at the University of Nottingham in England, which examined repeated prescription doses of painkillers in older adults.

“While further research is now needed to confirm our findings, given its minimal effect on pain relief, the use of paracetamol as a first-line pain reliever for long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis in the elderly should be carefully considered.”

However, this does not mean that the use of this drug is dangerous, nor that everyone should be wary of it.

He said the Nottingham study had some limitations, such as the researchers only looked at adults aged 65 and over who were repeatedly prescribed acetaminophen by their doctor – not those who could buy the painkiller without a prescription, as many people do.

“The results of this study—suggesting that there may be some increased risk for, for example, gastrointestinal bleeding—are interesting, but this is a small increase in rare events,” Silman said, adding that the increased risk associated with acetaminophen may be due in part to “methodological problems”.

The study was observational only, so the researchers found a correlation between acetaminophen prescriptions and certain health effects, but that doesn’t mean the drugs caused the increased risk.

Researchers from Nottingham analyzed the medical records of more than 180,000 older adults who had been prescribed acetaminophen at least twice during a six-month period.

They then compared the health outcomes of these people to more than 400,000 adults of the same age who were not repeatedly prescribed acetaminophen.

“The official recommendation for the use of pain relievers, including over-the-counter pain relievers, is to always use the lowest dose for the shortest possible time,” Silman said. “Mostly safe pain relievers such as paracetamol are rightly available over the counter to relieve symptoms, but patients should always read the accompanying information carefully and report any problems to their GP.”

Link

Kaur, J., Nakafero, G., Abhishek, A., Mallen, C., Doherty, M., Zhang, W. (2024). Incidence of adverse effects associated with acetaminophen in people aged 65 years or older: a prospective cohort study using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Arthritis Care and Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25471