Study: An aspirin a day adds to risk of age-related macular degeneration

Researchers caution more research needed before any changes to daily aspirin regimen recommendations are made

January 4, 2012

A large European study released Tuesday found that daily aspirin use is linked to an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, a disease that can damage the central vision that is essential for reading and driving.

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Comments

What asprin dosage was

What asprin dosage was tested?? Huge missing data

was 81mg baby asprin tested?? or 325mg ?? or WHAT ?

Please advise

ed@esihbc.com

Jan 06, 2012 - 13:36

mjohnsen says:

Ed, Thank you for your

Ed,

Thank you for your response and I apologize for taking so long to get back to you — I needed to access the full study before I could reply.

The researchers did not capture the actual strength of the aspirin in their poll. Of the 4,691 participants, when asked about their aspirin use, 2,760 replied "never"; 766 reported "monthly or less"; 326 "at least once weekly"; and 839 "daily."

From the Discussion portion of the research:

"There are no data regarding the amount of aspirin the participants used. In a meta-analysis of 31 trials including nearly 200,000 patients, however, daily aspirin intake of less than 100 mg was associated with bleeding, without mention of ocular hemorrhages, but with a lower risk than aspirin intake of 100 mg or more. In a study of AMD patients whose average aspirin intake was 100 mg/day, the [odds ratio] for severe subretinal hemorrhage was 7.99; so, one could extrapolate that our findings may even be explained by these low doses."

I hope this helps!

All the best!
Mike