Newsbriefs: Binge Drinking; NSAIDs and Cardiac Arrest

More Older Women are Binge Drinking

A new study suggests that binge drinking is on the rise among older women. Researchers writing in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, March 24, analyzed data on more than 65,000 men and women age 60 and older. All were current drinkers, and more than 6,500 men and 1,700 women were binge drinkers. While the average prevalence of binge drinking among men was stable between 1997 and 2014, it increased by about four percent per year among women. Older adults (and particularly women) are more susceptible to alcohol’s potential harms (which include a greater risk for liver disease, stroke, some cancers, bleeding, depression, and falls). If you enjoy consuming alcohol, be guided by experts who recommend that seniors have no more than one alcoholic drink per day.  

NSAIDs and Cardiac Arrest 

Recent research (European Heart Journal, April) suggests an association between cardiac arrest and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®) and diclofenac (Voltaren®, Cambia®). Researchers looked at 29,000 people who had suffered a cardiac arrest, a potentially fatal event in which the heart stops pumping blood to the body. The risk for cardiac arrest increased by one-third in those who took ibuprofen in the 30 days prior to experiencing cardiac arrest. The risk doubled in those taking diclofenac. It isn’t clear what might underpin the link—it also is possible some of the participants were taking NSAIDs because they had an underlying health problem that raised their risk for cardiac arrest. NSAIDs also are linked to a greater risk for gastrointestinal bleeding and kidney disease in seniors, so if you regularly take the drugs, discuss their use with your doctor.    

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