People with psychosocial deficits, such as poor health literacy, depression and impaired cognition, are at a higher risk of haemorrhage from warfarin, a common blood-thinning medication in Australia.
Most warfarin users are older patients. While warfarin may be effective in treating thromboembolic disorders or blood clots, researchers found that psychosocial conditions increased the risk of bleeding as much as factors such as age.
Doctors should consider the social well-being of patients before prescribing the drug, according to the study.
Read more at Monash University