Millions of older Australians exposed to overlapping medication risks
· Medical Xpressedited by Swati Mestri, reviewed by Andrew Zinin
Swati Mestri
Scientific Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process
Andrew Zinin
Chief Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
fact-checked
trusted source
proofread
The GIST Add to Preferred Sources
An estimated 2.3 million older Australians are being dispensed multiple medicines associated with falls and fractures, while more than 1.2 million are receiving combinations linked to kidney-related side effects, according to new research from Adelaide University.
In research published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, researchers found that older Australians are commonly taking multiple medicines that are linked to the same adverse effects, highlighting a potentially overlooked risk to medication safety.
Using a 10% random sample of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme dispensing records, researchers examined medicine use among more than 323,500 older people.
Extrapolating the findings to the national population, researchers estimated that about 2.4 million older Australians were dispensed multiple medicines with overlapping adverse-effect risks.
The most common overlapping risks were falls and fractures, affecting an estimated 2.3 million older Australians, followed by constipation (1.7 million) and kidney-related injury (more than 1.2 million).
The findings show that taking multiple medicines with overlapping side effects may increase the risk of serious health problems commonly experienced by older Australians, highlighting the importance of identifying potentially harmful medication combinations.
Lead researcher Dr. Imaina Widagdo said that while medicines play a vital role in managing chronic health conditions, taking several medications with similar side effects can increase the potential for harm.
"Older Australians often need multiple medicines to manage different health conditions, but what people may not realize is that these medicines can have overlapping side effects," Widagdo said.
"For example, someone might be taking several medicines for different conditions, each of which could also cause dizziness or affect balance. Together, these may increase that person's risk of falls and fractures.
"These combined risks are not always obvious during routine care, particularly when medicines are prescribed by different health care professionals, but you can see how they may contribute to preventable harm."
Globally, falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths, including fatal falls among adults age 60 and older.
In Australia, about 250,000 hospital admissions are medication-related, costing the health care system 1.4 billion Australian dollars each year. Two-thirds of medication-related hospital admissions are potentially preventable.
Researchers say the findings highlight opportunities for pharmacists and general practitioners to identify potentially harmful medicine combinations through regular medication reviews.
"Medication reviews are an important opportunity to look at all the medicines a person is taking, identify overlapping risks and consider whether some medicines could be safely reduced or stopped," Widagdo said.
"This doesn't mean people should stop taking prescribed medicines. Rather, it highlights the importance of regularly reviewing medications with a health care professional to ensure the benefits continue to outweigh the risks."
Researchers hope the findings will support greater use of medication reviews, particularly those led by pharmacists, to identify patients at higher risk and improve medication safety.
More information
Imaina Widagdo et al., Concurrent use of medicines with similar adverse drug reaction profiles in older adults: identifying potential deprescribing opportunities using population-level dispensing data, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s11096-026-02148-6
Key medical concepts
FracturesFallsInjury to KidneyConstipation
Clinical categories
Clinical pharmacologyFamily medicineHealthy agingAllied healthCommon illnesses & Prevention Provided by University of Adelaide Who's behind this story?
Swati Mestri
Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →
Andrew Zinin
Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →
Citation: Millions of older Australians exposed to overlapping medication risks (2026, October 19) retrieved 19 October 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-millions-older-australians-exposed-overlapping.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.