It has been researched many times: daily aspirin is said to have all kinds of health benefits. A new study supports these findings. Those who take aspirin regularly may have a lower risk of colon cancer, especially if they have an unhealthy lifestyle.
Aim of the study to find the group of people most likely to benefit from aspirin to create a personalized prevention strategy, explained researcher Andrew Chan from the Massachusetts General Hospital. In the US, colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death.
Instructions withdrawn
There was once an American guideline that recommended low-dose aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease and colon cancer in people between the ages of 50 and 59, the highest risk group. However, in 2016, this advice was partially withdrawn, because aspirin also increases the risk of bleeding in the digestive system.
Since then there has been a debate about the usefulness of aspirin. The American researchers wanted to add nuance to this. They looked at health data from more than 100,000 people who participated in long-term health studies. They simply compared the number of colon cancer cases in the group that regularly took aspirin with the number of cases of the disease in the group that did not take the medication. In this case, the regular use of aspirin is two or more 325 mg pills per week or 81 mg tablets per day.
Continued for ten years
The participants were followed from an average age of 49.4 years. The chance of developing colon cancer in the following ten years was 1.98 percent for the aspirin takers and 2.95 percent for the other participants. The benefit was greater for those who had such unhealthy lives. They had a 3.4 percent chance of colorectal cancer without aspirin. If they took a regular dose, the risk dropped to 2.12 percent. In the healthiest group, aspirin hardly helped: the risk fell from 1.6 to 1.5 percent if they took a pill every day. Healthy lifestyle was measured by BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise and healthy diet.
“Our findings show that aspirin can significantly reduce the increased risk of colon cancer in those with multiple risk factors,” said researcher Daniel Sikavi. healthy people are already at a lower risk for colorectal cancer and they still get some benefit from aspirin, although it is not so clear. According to the researchers, doctors should consider recommending aspirin to patients have not very healthy lives. How much should they take? In this study, participants received a standard dose of at least 325 mg twice a week, but according to previous research, a dose a daily low of 81 mg works even better, the researchers said.
Anti-inflammatory effect
It is notable that aspirin has such health benefits, but the question is how it works. Previous studies have found evidence that aspirin inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory proteins called prostaglandins. These proteins are said to increase the risk of cancer. Aspirin is also thought to prevent uncontrolled cell growth and affect the immune response against cancer cells. The drug is also said to inhibit the development of blood vessels, which provide nutrients to cancer cells. So there are several ways that aspirin can prevent cancer.
However, the possible side effects of daily aspirin use were not included in this study, such as stomach or intestinal bleeding. Although a large number of risk factors for colon cancer have been measured, other factors may have played a role.
earlier we already wrote that aspirin can significantly reduce the risk of diabetes. Over-65s in Australia were given a low daily dose of 100 mg aspirin or a placebo for five years. Neither the participants nor the scientists knew who got what. At the end of the study, aspirin takers appeared to have a 15 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. But a negative effect, according to another study: the aspirin swallowers were almost 40 percent more likely to get blood in the digestive system.
2024-08-04 11:32:09
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