Ibuprofen painkillers lower risk of dying among elderly, claims study

The study found that the group of medicines, known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), did not increase the risk of heart attack in older people.

Previous research had suggested there were risks linked to the use of painkilling drugs in older people.

The researchers also found that the use of these drugs was associated with a lower risk of death, but were not sure why this was the case.

The report, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, was based on a study which looked at hospital admission and pharmacy prescription information for 320,000 Australian veterans.

The study focused on anti-inflammatory drugs that, with the exception of ibuprofen, generally require a prescription.

Professor Arduino Mangoni, who led the study, said: "Thinking up until now suggests that the use of anti-inflammatory drugs … increases the risk of heart disease.

"However, the evidence of a link between NSAIDs and heart disease is controversial as several studies have failed to demonstrate a significant increase in the risk."

Prof Mangoni, who recently joined the University of Aberdeen from Flinders University in Adelaide, added: "Unlike previous studies we did not observe an increased risk of heart disease after considering NSAIDs as a whole, their sub-classes, and several individual drugs.

"In fact our study has demonstrated that the use of NSAIDs has overall a neutral effect on the risk of heart disease in a large elderly population with multiple co-existing medical conditions."

Prof Mangoni, now chair in medicine of old age at the University of Aberdeen, said he believed the link between NSAIDs and mortality could be due to a number of factors.

"It could be that anti-inflammatory drugs could exert some protective effects towards heart disease and cancer, the two main killers in our ageing population.

"It might be that people on these drugs have better pain control and therefore a less sedentary lifestyle. Or perhaps people on these drugs in our study were generally healthier."

Despite the findings Prof Mangoni said he would not advise people to take painkillers regularly unless they were necessary.

"Further prospective studies are urgently required to investigate the impact of NSAID use on these outcomes and the mechanisms involved," he said.

Lindsay Scott, spokesman for Age Scotland, said: "As you get older you become a bit more frail and more susceptible to pain. Sometimes it is good to have something you can take for a specific ailment and it is good to be reassured that it is not going to have any long-term negative effect on you."