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October 28, 2002 The commonly used pain medications acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), are associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure in younger women according to an article in the October 28 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association.
According to background information in the article, the use of analgesics, or pain-reducing drugs, is common. Previous studies have suggested that the use of NSAIDs cause a small increase in blood pressure and increase the risk of hypertension, whereas aspirin and acetaminophen use do not. However, most of these studies have focused on patients taking antihypertensive medications. The effects of the long-term use of analgesics have not been well studied. In addition, aspirin, acetaminophen and some NSAIDs are available as over-the-counter products.
Gary C. Curhan, M.D., Sc.D., of Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues examined the association between frequency of use of three classes of commonly used analgesics and the risk of hypertension among 80,020 women aged 31 to 50 who were participating in the Nurses' Health Study II and who had no previous history of hypertension.
In the Nurses' Health Study II, a large group of nurses has been followed since 1989 with surveys mailed every other year to collect data on lifestyle practices and other health issues. Dr. Curhan et al identified 80,020 women in the Nurses' Health Study II with no previous history of hypertension. In 1995, the researchers mailed questionnaires to these women asking about frequency of analgesic use (in days per month) for aspirin, NSAIDs and acetaminophen.
The researchers found that on at least one day per month, 51.2 percent of the group used aspirin, 76.7 percent used NSAIDs, and 72.5 percent used acetaminophen. Of the participants who received the analgesics questionnaire, 1,650 were diagnosed with hypertension as reported on the 1997 Nurses' Health Study II biennial survey.
After adjusting for differences in age, the use of all three classes of analgesics were associated with an increased risk of hypertension. After further adjustment for all three analgesics and other potential risk factors among the participants, the researchers found that only NSAIDs and acetaminophen were associated with a risk of hypertension. Additionally, when compared with those who reported no use of analgesics, those who reported using NSAIDs 22 days per month or more had an 86 percent increase in the risk of developing hypertension, and those taking acetaminophen 22 days per month or more had twice the risk of developing hypertension.