{
  "id": 9834700,
  "title": "1 in 5 Older Americans Take Medications That Could Cause Major Interactions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/1-in-5-older-americans-take-medications-that-could-cause-major",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-25T20:57:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/1-in-5-older-americans-take-medications-that-could-cause-major-interactions-12489184"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study published in JAMA reveals that more than one in five older Americans are taking medications that could lead to serious drug interactions. Despite a slight decrease in such risks over recent years, the risk remains high among the elderly population, with over 22% of those aged 62 to 85 exposed to potentially major drug interactions in 2021-2023. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 5,000 U.S. adults and found that polypharmacy, defined as taking five or more prescription medications simultaneously, increased from 31% to 35.7% between 2015-2016 and 2021-2023. Similarly, dietary supplement polypharmacy rose from 12.6% to 16.7%. The trend of older adults taking multiple prescription drugs and supplements simultaneously raises concerns about medication safety, side effects, and preventable hospitalizations. Dr. Spencer Kroll, a physician with expertise in pharmacology, emphasized that while the number of people exposed to potentially serious drug-drug interactions has decreased, it still remains well over one-fifth of the elderly, posing a major public health challenge.",
  "summary": "Many older Americans still face potentially dangerous drug interactions as prescription and supplement use rises.",
  "key_points": [
    "Over 22% of Americans aged 62-85 take medications with major interaction risks.",
    "Polypharmacy increased from 31% to 35.7% between 2015-2016 and 2021-2023.",
    "Elderly drug-drug interaction exposure remains high despite slight decrease."
  ],
  "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."
}