Study says low dose daily aspirin intake has benefits outweighing risk to stomach bleeding

Emobileclinic Researchers Corner

According to a recent study published by the Journal of Public Library Science, some scientists from the Cardiff University have found that the benefits inherent in using aspirin is far above the most common side effect of stomach bleeding. According to them, the stomach bleeds resulting from the use of aspirin are considerably less serious than the spontaneous bleeds that may occur in people not taking the drug.

In his view, Professor Peter Elwood from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine said: “although many people use aspirin daily to reduce the risk of health problems such as cancer and heart disease, the wider use of the drug is severely limited because of the side effect of bleeding from the stomach. With our study showing that there is no increased risk of death from stomach bleeding in people who take regular aspirin, we hope there will be better confidence in the drug and wider use of it by older people, leading to important reductions in deaths and disablement from heart disease and cancer across the community.”
The two leading causes of death and disabilities across the world are heart disease and cancer. However, studies have shown that a small daily dose of aspirin can lower the emergence of both diseases by around 20-30%. Recent research has also revealed that low-doses of aspirin given to patients with cancer, alongside chemotherapy and or radiotherapy, is an effective further treatment, reducing the deaths of patients with bowel and possibly other cancers, by a further 15%.
The study adopted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials which offers the strongest evidence for drawing causal conclusions because it draws together all of the best evidence.

Source

Peter E. Elwood, et.al (2016): Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials to Ascertain Fatal Gastrointestinal Bleeding Events Attributable to Preventive Low-Dose Aspirin: No Evidence of Increased Risk. PLOS, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166166