{
  "id": 9611444,
  "title": "Possible Drug-Drug Interactions Flagged for Older Americans",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/possible-drug-drug-interactions-flagged-for-older-americans",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-24T18:59:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MedPage Today",
    "slug": "medpage-today",
    "url": "https://www.medpagetoday.com/geriatrics/generalgeriatrics/123135"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Recent research reveals a concerning trend among older Americans aged 62 and above. Despite no significant change in prescription medication and dietary supplement usage between 2015-2016 and 2021-2023, polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions are on the rise. Polypharmacy involving prescription medications increased from 31.0% to 35.7%, while dietary supplement use rose from 12.6% to 16.7%.\n\nHowever, the proportion of individuals with potentially major drug-drug interactions decreased from 25.7% to 22.3%, driven by a drop in interactions involving prescription medications. Despite this, antidepressants and muscle relaxants continue to be the most commonly involved in these interactions, particularly antidepressants.\n\nThe study, led by Dima Qato from the University of Southern California, uses data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. This nationally representative sample of community-dwelling adults aged 62-85 in the U.S. found that while opioid analgesics and benzodiazepines are less commonly used in interacting regimens, muscle relaxants are on the rise. This increase in muscle relaxants may contribute to higher rates of unintentional overdose deaths among older adults.\n\nQato and colleagues stress the importance of safer use of antidepressants and deprescribing guidelines for older adults. They suggest that treatment guidelines for depression and initiatives aimed at deprescribing psychotropic medications should prioritize drug-drug interactions, especially those involving antidepressants and increased awareness of serotonergic and cardiovascular risks. The study also cautions that actual adverse drug events from drug-drug interactions could not be identified due to the study's limitations.",
  "summary": "(MedPage Today) -- More work is needed with regard to antidepressants and muscle relaxants amid efforts to tamp down on polypharmacy and harmful drug-drug interactions, according to nationally representative data. Among Americans ages 62 and older...",
  "key_points": [
    "Polypharmacy increased from 31.0% to 35.7% among older Americans",
    "Drug-drug interaction prevalence dropped from 25.7% to 22.3%",
    "Antidepressants and muscle relaxants most commonly involved in interactions"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}