More on Tylenol and hypertension

Filed in archive Opinion on August 16, 2005

There is debate as to whether the recent link between Tylenol and hypertension is strong enough. As I have mentioned, more studies (i.e. randomized trials) needs to be done to conclusively prove this. Right now, simple caution is all that is needed. Tylenol remains a safe medication:

But not all medical studies are created equal. Many doctors today were unusually critical of this latest research, and they worried about the fear it could trigger.

"I think it is flawed research, and I think it's being greatly over-interpreted," said Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic. "It's really weak evidence."

The study is flawed, doctors said, because the researchers never actually measured people's blood pressure. They left it up to the patients, in a questionnaire, to say whether they'd been recently diagnosed with hypertension.

The researchers also never counted the pills patients were taking --- again, leaving it up to people to self-report what they were taking at the beginning of the study, with no follow-up to see if they were taking the same pills at the end of the study.

("Doctors Question Hypertension-Painkillers Link", ABC News, Aug.16)