A long-term study highlights complications that are not always associated with this medication.
More than 415 million boxes delivered in one year to 43 million patients. Present in almost every medicine cabinet, this medication is an ally against everyday pain. If it is so widely used, it is because it benefits from an image of a safe and well-tolerated drug. Which is true most of the time, but a new study highlights a link between its regular intake and several complications. “serious” especially for the kidneys of those over 65 years old.
The authors looked at health data from more than 180,000 people who took the drug regularly and compared it to more than 400,000 people who did not take it. “The primary objective was to examine the safety of (this) oral acetaminophen at its therapeutic dose in adults aged 65 years and older”explain the researchers in “Arthritis Care & Research”. By following these patients over 20 years (from 1998 to 2018), they observed that the group exposed to the treatment presented “an increased risk of perforation, ulceration or bleeding, peptic ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, heart failure and hypertension.” The most worrying result concerned the kidneys.
In people over 65 years of age taking this painkiller chronically, the risk of developing chronic kidney disease increased by about 20% compared to those who did not take it. The researchers also highlighted an obvious “dose-response” relationship: the greater and more regular the consumption of the drug, the worse it was for the kidneys. The drug in question is paracetamol, also called acetaminophen and present in the popular Doliprane©, Dafalgan© or Efferalgan©. “Despite its apparent safety, paracetamol is associated with several serious complications” say the scientists. According to the Statista website, France is the largest consumer of paracetamol in Europe.
Caution is therefore advised among seniors. “Its use as a first-line oral analgesic for chronic conditions in the elderly needs to be carefully re-evaluated” they estimate. In France, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) recalls the rules for the proper use of paracetamol: take the lowest possible dose, for the shortest duration, respect an interval of at least 4 to 6 hours between doses and never exceed the maximum recommended dose (generally 3 grams per day for an adult without any particular pathology). Finally, it is essential to seek the advice of a doctor or pharmacist, especially in the event of prolonged treatment.
