Researchers affiliated with the Nurses’ Health Study have reported that low to moderate doses of aspirin are associated with a lower all cause mortality. A modest benefit on cancer deaths was only seen after 10 years of usage. The details of this study appeared in the March 26, 2007 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Long-term aspirin use has been associated with a lower rate of cardiovascular deaths and a lower incidence of certain types of cancer. Current data suggests that regular use of moderate doses of aspirin has an impact on the development of colorectal cancer and breast cancer. However, the risks of long-term aspirin use are poorly defined.
The current study involved over 75,000 women who were observed over a 24 year period during which time there were over 9,000 deaths. This was not a randomized trial but a comparison between women who voluntarily took aspirin on a regular basis and those who did not. During the study period, almost 2,000 of these deaths were from cardiovascular disease and 4,400 were cancer related. These authors reported a 25% reduction in death from all causes among women who took aspirin on a regular basis versus women who did not take aspirin on a regular basis. These authors reported a 38% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease and a 12% reduction in deaths from cancer. Deaths from colorectal cancer were reduced by 28%. Lower deaths from cardiovascular disease were noted in the first 5 years of the study while the effects on cancer deaths were not apparent in the first 10 years. For cancer related deaths, there appeared to be a dose effect with higher doses being more preventative. The researchers also noted that women who took more than 14 tablets of aspirin per week had a 43% increased incidence of hemorrhagic stroke.
