Risks could outweigh the benefits of taking low-dose aspirin every day, according to studies | Simplemost

This is one of the best known principles of modern medicine: an aspirin a day keeps the doctor away. However, according to a trio of studies published Sept. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, a low-dose daily aspirin regimen provides no significant benefit to the health of healthy older adults. Instead, it can cause them serious harm.

The main study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial – considered the gold standard for clinical trials. Researchers at Monash University in Australia recruited nearly 20,000 people in this country and the United States, with a median age of 74 years. All participants were considered healthy at the time of registration. disability.

Half of the participants in the study received 100 milligrams of aspirin a day; the other half received a placebo. (A typical "low dose" aspirin contains 81 milligrams of the drug).

Against risk Reward

After almost five years, the researchers did not observe a difference between the two groups with respect to "disability-free survival". However, they did document a higher bleeding rate in the aspirin group. received a placebo.

Indeed, the second study states that "the risk of major bleeding was significantly higher with aspirin than with placebo. The major haemorrhages mainly involved upper gastrointestinal and intracranial bleeding. "

Finally, the third study found "higher all-cause mortality … in apparently healthy elderly people who received aspirin daily than in those who received [a] placebo and was attributed primarily to cancer-related death. The authors added: "In the context of previous studies, this result was unexpected and should be interpreted with caution. "

Taken together, the three studies recognize that millions of people around the world follow a low-dose daily aspirin regimen, aimed at preventing heart attacks and strokes.

For patients with a history of heart attack or stroke, previous research is clear and has shown that the benefits of daily use of aspirin outweigh the risks. The US Task Force on Preventive Services recommends "to initiate the use of low-dose aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer in adults aged 50 to 59 years of age with a risk of cardiovascular disease of 10% or more. More than 60 years, the working group is less normative.

According to these three new studies, taking a daily low dose aspirin is at best a waste of money for healthy seniors. At worst, it can increase the risk of internal bleeding and premature death.

Researchers do not recommend that if you are in good health and taking aspirin every day, you must stop. Always consult your doctor before starting or stopping a medication.

Written by Ben Tinker for CNN.

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