The growing danger of mixing prescription drugs and supplements
Mar-25-2016

A growing number of older adults are combining multiple prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements in ways that could lead to serious side effects, according to a new study.
From 2006 to 2011, the number of older adults (ages 62 to 85) in the United States taking five or more medications or supplements rose from 53.4% to 67.1%.

A common prescription drug, for example, is warfarin, a blood thinner. But combining it with a supplement such as omega-3 fish oils, which skyrocketed in popularity during the period of the study, increases the risk of bleeding for certain patients.
The number of older adults taking at least one prescription medication or dietary supplement rose between 2005 and 2011, while over-the-counter medications became less prevalent.

The researchers used a database of reported and predicted drug interactions to determine whether the 20 most common prescription drugs and supplements used by the participants in their study were predicted to cause an adverse reaction when taken together.

They found that 16 combinations of prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs and supplements were predicted to increase the risk of adverse reactions, most commonly bleeding. The number of adults taking one of these combinations also increased during the study period, from 8.4% to 15.1%.

"We are trying to improve access to essential prescription medications like statins that could prevent heart disease and improve survival, but we are not prioritizing enough how safe these medications are in the context of all the prescription and nonprescription medications older adults are using," said Dima M. Qato, assistant professor of pharmacy systems, outcomes and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Qato is the lead author of the study, which was published on Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

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