Analgesic drug use in an ambulatory elderly population.

Prescribed and nonprescribed analgesic use was studied in a population of 3192 elderly ambulatory subjects. Analgesic drugs were used by 44.3 percent of women and 32.6 percent of men. The most common analgesic products used were aspirin, buffered aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. Numerous participants reported the use of multiple analgesic products. Alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, and blood urea nitrogen concentrations were higher in subjects reporting the use of analgesics, but total bilirubin and serum iron concentrations were lower.