How Many Medications Is Too Many? A New JAMA Study Raises the Question.

At what point does a medicine cabinet become a problem?

Many older adults take several prescription medications.

Then there are over-the-counter drugs.

Then vitamins and supplements.

And sometimes medications prescribed by different doctors.

A new study published in JAMA looked at medication use among older adults in the United States and examined how often people were taking combinations that could potentially produce major drug-drug interactions.

The researchers used nationally representative U.S. data from 2015–2016 through 2021–2023.

They looked at prescription medications, over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements.

The study found that potentially major drug-drug interactions remained common among older adults, although the prevalence had declined somewhat compared with earlier years.

The researchers also point to another concerning number.

Between 2015 and 2025, approximately 63,000 serious adverse events attributed to drug-drug interactions were reported to the FDA among adults age 65 and older. About 10% of those reports were fatal.

That statistic comes from FDA reports cited by the researchers. It was not a count of events caused by the medication combinations identified in this particular study.

That’s an important distinction.

Taking several medications isn’t automatically dangerous.

For many people, multiple medications are necessary and appropriate.

The issue is whether the entire combination still makes sense.

One simple question worth asking

When was the last time someone reviewed everything you take?

Not just your prescriptions.

Everything.

Prescription drugs.

Over-the-counter medications.

Vitamins.

Supplements.

And medications you take only occasionally.

A pharmacist can often be particularly useful here because medication interactions are their specialty.

The Watchdog takeaway

Don’t ask only:

“Do I still need this medication?”

Also ask:

“Do all of these medications and supplements still make sense together?”

That’s a different—and potentially very useful—question.