Aspirin won't help the elderly
Three articles presenting data from clinical studies of the role of aspirin in reducing the number of health problems in the elderly (ASPREE) were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on September 16.
A total of 19114 people participated in the research, including 16703 from Australia and 2411 from the USA. At the beginning of the study in 2010, the age of the subjects was 70 years or more. The exception was made by participants of African–American and Latin American origin - for them, due to the increased risk of senile dementia and cardiovascular diseases, the minimum age of participation was 65 years. In addition, at the start of the study, none of the participants had dementia or disability, as well as indications for taking aspirin due to any health disorders. The observation was carried out for 4.7 years to analyze the long-term effects of aspirin.
According to available data, aspirin helps prevent cardiovascular catastrophes in patients who have either already had a heart attack or stroke earlier, or have a history of any cardiovascular disease. However, there is no data on its effect on healthy elderly people.
For the research, the participants were divided into two groups: some took 100 mg of aspirin daily, others took a placebo. At the end of the observations, the scientists found that aspirin does not affect the duration of active (without disability or dementia) life: by the end of the study, 90.3% of the subjects taking aspirin and 90.5% of those taking placebo remained healthy and active. Indicators of disability and dementia development did not differ statistically between the two groups.
The mortality rate was higher in the aspirin group – 5.9% versus 5.2% among those taking placebo. Most of the deaths that occurred during the study were due to cancer. Among those taking aspirin, there was a slight increase in the number of cancerous tumors, but it is impossible to say whether this is directly related to taking the drug, or due to other unaccounted factors.
The risks of cardiovascular catastrophe were also at the same level in both groups - 448 people in the aspirin group and 474 in the placebo group suffered coronary heart disease, heart attack (without fatal outcome), as well as ischemic stroke, statistically significant differences were not shown. However, scientists noted a statistically significant increase in the risk of serious hemorrhages in the aspirin group compared to the control group.
Based on all the data obtained, it can be concluded that daily intake of aspirin in small doses does not affect life expectancy, as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular pathologies, dementia and disability among people over 70 years old.
Articles by McNeil et al. Effect of Aspirin on Disability-free Survival in the Healthy Elderly; Effect of Aspirin on All-Cause Mortality in the Healthy Elderly; Effect of Aspirin on Cardiovascular Events and Bleeding in the Healthy Elderly are published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on Eurekalert: Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy life span in older people.