Do you or someone you know take a low-dose of aspirin because you believe that it could reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, memory-related issues and cancer? Well, you might want to stop taking it now because a study released recently shows that small, daily doses of aspirin might do more harm than good for healthy seniors.
While low-dose aspirin may lower the chances of recurrence in those who have previously suffered a heart attack or stroke and may also reduce the risk of heart attack in people under the age of 70 with at least 10 percent risk of developing heart issues, it may not benefit healthy individuals.
A large-scale study observed over 19,000 healthy seniors from Australia and the U.S. The group included Caucasians who were 70 or older and Hispanics and African-Americans who were 65 or older (because they stand a higher risk of dementia and heart ailments).
Nearly one half of the group was given 100 milligrams of aspirin while the others were given a placebo for nearly five years. It was noticed that 90.5 percent of the seniors on placebo showed no onset of medical problems when compared to 90.3 percent of those on aspirin.
The number of people who suffered from dementia and disabilities was comparable too. This means that a daily dose of aspirin did not have any significant benefit in supporting the lifestyle of healthy seniors.
Apart from having no particular positive impact, it was seen to increase the chance of developing a hemorrhage and life-threatening bleeding. Another negative observation was the increased risk of cancer-related death in those who were given aspirin every day.
With this study comes the revelation that just because a low-dose aspirin routine might be beneficial for people who have pre-existing heart conditions or have suffered a stroke does not make it safe for older individuals who are otherwise healthy.
References
Molina, B. (2018, September 17). Low-dose aspirin has no effect, causes harm in some older people, study finds. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/17/daily-aspirin-risk-healthy-older-people-nejm-study/1333165002/
Stein, R. (2018, September 16). Study: A Daily Baby Aspirin Has No Benefit For Healthy Older People. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/09/16/647415462/study-a-daily-baby-aspirin-has-no-benefit-for-healthy-older-people
