Published: 20:26 BST, 14 August 2026 | Updated: 21:26 BST, 14 August 2026
A popular over-the-counter painkiller is now among the largest drivers of liver injury and damage, a new study suggests.
Researchers in Virginia analyzed data on calls to poison centers involving liver injuries caused by medications, alcohol, supplements and other substances over the past quarter century, finding they had surged nearly 400 percent overall.
Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, was found to be the most common substance linked to liver injury throughout this period.
Dr Christopher Holstege, the emergency medicine doctor behind the study, said: 'Liver injuries reported to US poison centers have steadily increased.
'The public should be aware of potential liver injury with various substances that are readily available to consumers.'
Millions of doses of acetaminophen are purchased in the US every year, a painkiller used to treat ailments such as muscle aches or to get relief from a cold or the flu.
The FDA says acetaminophen is safe and effective when taken at the right dose, no more than 1,000 milligrams (mg) every four to six hours for adults.
But it warns that, when taken at higher doses, the drug can build up in liver cells and cause potentially irreversible damage to the organ.
Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, was found to be the most common substance linked to the injury throughout the study period
The liver is one of the vital organs in the body, responsible for filtering waste out of the blood and generating essential chemicals.
Warning signs of an acetaminophen overdose include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, confusion and jaundice, or a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes.
In severe cases, the damage may lead to needing a liver transplant or could result in death.
In the study, researchers analyzed data on 220,000 cases of xenobiotic liver injuries, injuries to the liver caused by substances not typically found in the body, reported to the poison control system from 2000 to 2024.
Over the study period, the rate of liver injuries from all causes increased from 10.9 per million to 52.9 per million – more than quadrupling.
