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(Nottingham, England) – New research shows too much Tylenol could cause harm to seniors. The findings, published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research shows people over 65 run a higher risk of having gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and kidney issues if they take repeated doses of Tylenol. Researchers looked at data from over 180 thousand people people age 65 and over who were prescribed acetaminophen more than twice within six months. Their health was compared to others of the same age who had never been prescribed the drug repeatedly.
Evidence also suggests the widely used painkiller inhibits the production of prostaglandins, which are made by the body to deal with illness and injury. In the study, researchers analyzed data on over 180,400 people aged 65 and over who had been prescribed acetaminophen repeatedly (more than twice within six months). Their health was then compared to nearly 402,500 people of the same age who had never been prescribed the drug repeatedly.
Weiya Zhang, from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, led the study.