You normally only take an aspirin if you have a headache or some other ailment, but people over 65 might be better off taking it every day. It seems to significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Although there are also possible unpleasant side effects.
Australian scientists got people over 65 to take a low dose of 100 milligrams of aspirin or a placebo every day for five years. The participants and the researchers did not know who was getting what. It turned out that the group that took the aspirin had a 15 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Professor Sophia Zoungas of the Monash University in Melbourne explains that the anti-inflammatory effect of drugs such as aspirin, which you can buy over the counter at the chemist’s, probably underlies the effect. “The results call for follow-up research in which we can learn more about the positive effects, but also the negative side effects,” says Zoungas. The precise effect of aspirin on the development of type 2 diabetes in the elderly therefore remains unclear.
Increased risk of internal bleeding
The researchers looked at a possible causal relationship between the intake of a low daily dose of aspirin, the outcome of a fasting plasma glucose measurement (FPG in millimoles/litre) and the risk of diabetes. This is a follow-up study to the ASPREE trial from 2018, a double-blind experiment, in which a group also received aspirin or a placebo. It found that older aspirin takers are 38 percent more likely to experience major internal bleeding somewhere in the digestive system. There was no link between aspirin intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Double-blind study with placebo group
More than 16,000 healthy people over the age of 65 living at home participated in the new study. Every year, all participants were tested for FPG level (higher or lower than 7.0 mmol/l), they were also asked every year whether they had type 2 diabetes and whether they were prescribed glucose-lowering medication. None of the subjects had diabetes at the start of the experiment. After 4 to 5 years, the balance was drawn up for each participant. There were then a total of 995 diabetic patients – 459 on aspirin and 536 on placebo. In the end, it turned out that the aspirin group had a 15 percent lower risk of diabetes after 4.7 years. The researchers also found a statistically significant difference in the increase in FPG values between the two groups.
Mapping side effects
“Treatment with the anti-inflammatory drug aspirin resulted in a lower rate of diabetes diagnoses and a delayed rise in fasting plasma glucose levels in the initially healthy older adults over the four to five years they participated in the experiment. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in the population, partly due to an unhealthy lifestyle and an aging society. It is therefore very important to do further research into the preventive effect of anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, to see why a low daily dose has a positive effect on FPG levels, and to identify the potential other positive and dangerous side effects. bring,” the researchers write in their study.
No new doctor’s advice yet
Professor Zoungas explains: “The 2018 ASPREE trial found that aspirin does not prolong life or help people stay healthy and independent for longer. The researchers did find a clear link with the risk of internal bleeding, which usually occurs somewhere in the gastrointestinal tract.”
This new study therefore comes to very different conclusions, but that does not mean that the health advice must be adjusted immediately. “Standard health advice now dictates that older adults only benefit from taking aspirin daily if there is a medical reason, such as after a heart attack. Our findings are very interesting, but we do not know enough at the moment to adjust the doctor’s advice regarding the use of aspirin in seniors.”
2023-09-05 06:32:37
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