http://www.medscape.com/MedscapeWire/2001/07/medwire.0718.Moderate.html
July 18, 2001
New York - New York - Occasional
use of aspirin, acetaminophen, or other pain reliever for everyday aches
and pains is not associated with kidney dysfunction among healthy men,
according to a new study.
"Because analgesic use is so common,
even small increases in the relative risk of renal dysfunction could have
a significant impact on rates of renal disease in the United States," write
the study's authors, which appears in the July 18 issue of The Journal
of the American Medical Association. "This study, however, provides reassuring
evidence that there does not appear to be a strong association between
chronic analgesic use and chronic renal dysfunction."
Some earlier studies have suggested
that regular use of popular pain relievers such as aspirin, acetaminophen,
and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may increase the
risk of chronic kidney problems in generally healthy patients, but others
have shown no association.
Researchers at Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston analyzed self-reported use of these pain relievers among
11,032 men with no history of kidney problems who took part in the 14-year
Physicans' Health Study, from 1982 to 1995. They compared analgesic use
to measured creatinine levels and creatinine clearance from blood samples
provided by the men.
The authors defined elevated creatinine
level as 1.5 mg/dL or higher, and a reduced creatinine clearance as 55
mL/min or less. Self-reported use of analgesics was classified as never
(less than 12 pills), 12-1499 pills, 1500-2499 pills, and more than 2500
pills.
A total of 460 men (4.2%) had elevated
creatinine levels, and 1258 men (11.4%) had reduced creatinine clearance.
"Mean [average] creatinine levels and creatinine clearances were similar
among men who did not use analgesics and those who did, even at total intakes
of 2,500 or more pills," the researchers write.
"We found no significant associations
between the use of acetaminophen, aspirin, or other NSAIDs and either elevated
creatinine levels or reduced creatinine clearance even among men who used
2500 or more pills (an average of 3 to 4 pills/week) over the study period,"
report the researchers.
The study was supported by grants
from the National Institutes of Health and McNeil Consumer Healthcare,
which makes Tylenol.
JAMA. 2001;286(3):315-321
Jennifer Warner is news editor with
CBS Healthwatch, Medscape's sister site for patients
By Jennifer Warner