Popular Pain Reliever Linked to Stroke Risk in Some Older Adults

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society is concerned with acetaminophen's potentially harmful effect on the health of older adults, reports SlashGear . The researchers sought a potential link between the pain reliever's use in older men and women and serious cardiac events like heart attacks and stroke, as well as death. A total of 5,429 nursing community residents, average age 86, participated. Of those, 74 percent were women. A total of 2,239 subjects were already on acetaminophen. Apart from one exception, the investigators did not observe an association between taking this pain reliever and increased heart attacks, stroke, or death. However, diabetics who took acetaminophen had a "slightly higher" risk of a stroke compared to non-diabetics.