A new study suggests that prescribing common pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen to people at risk of serious side effects makes their disease worse.
Some over-the-counter pain relievers can make us sicker PHOTO Shutterstock
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most prescribed drugs in the world to relieve pain and fever, reports the Daily Mail.
But they can increase the risk of internal bleeding, organ damage, heart attacks, and strokes in certain people, such as the elderly and those with peptic ulcers, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease.
Researchers at the University of Manchester found that, in addition to the millions in costs it takes on health services, “problematic prescription” of drugs caused more than 6,000 years of illness over 10 years.
They wrote in their study, published in the BMJ: “NSAIDs continue to be a source of avoidable harm and healthcare costs despite a number of initiatives to reduce their use, particularly in high-risk populations. Therefore, a concerted effort should be made to continue to include NSAIDs in patient safety and prescription reduction initiatives.”
NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen are often used to relieve headaches, sprains, menstrual cramps, and arthritis, which can cause long-term pain.
They are available as tablets, capsules, suppositories, creams, gels and injections.
Certain people are known to be vulnerable to serious side effects, but doctors prescribe them to people at risk of complications, which is “still frequent”the researchers said.
Using data from previous prescribing safety research in England, the study focused on five groups most at risk of NSAID side effects.
These included people taking anticoagulants, those with heart failure or chronic kidney disease, people with a history of peptic ulcers and people aged over 65 who were not taking medicines to suppress the secretion of stomach acid, known as gastroprotection.
Using economic models, the researchers estimated that prescribing the drugs to these people cost NHS England £31.4m in extra medical spending over a decade.
The biggest impact was found among patients on anticoagulants, costing £25.4 million, while the most common was among older people without gastroprotection, costing £2.5 million .
Over the course of 10 years, the researchers calculated that “dangerous prescribing events” resulted in a total loss of 6,335 years of good health among patients.
NSAID prescribing in primary care in England fell by around 12% between 2017 and 2022, the researchers said.
In 2022, naproxen – which reduces swelling and pain in joints and muscles – accounted for 69% of NSAID prescriptions, they added.
Prescriptions of COX-2 inhibitors — which treat arthritis pain — rose, although prescriptions of NSAIDs for heart-risk patients fell over the year, according to the study.
