Posted on 06/21/2023 3:43:01 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
An analysis of the ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) trial found that the use of low-dose aspirin was associated with a 20 percent increased incidence of anemia and decline in ferritin, or blood iron levels, in otherwise healthy older adults. These findings suggest that periodic monitoring of hemoglobin should be considered in older patients taking aspirin.
Approximately half of older persons in the United States have reported preventative aspirin use. One of the complications of aspirin use is an increased risk for major bleeding, particularly gastrointestinal bleeding. Although the risk for overt bleeding due to aspirin has been well characterized, very few studies have measured the effect of aspirin on anemia, particularly in older populations.
Researchers from Monash University, Melbourne conducted a post-hoc analysis of the ASPREE randomized controlled trial. The trial included 19,114 persons aged 70 years or older who were randomly assigned to take 100 mg of aspirin daily or placebo. Hemoglobin was measured annually, and ferritin was measured at baseline and 3 years after randomization.
The data showed that the risk for developing anemia was 23.5 percent among those assigned to receive low-dose aspirin. These results were accompanied by a small but greater decrease in mean hemoglobin and a greater decline in ferritin concentrations among those receiving aspirin.
Differences in clinically significant bleeding events did not account for the overall difference in incident anemia or the decline in ferritin observed in ASPREE but was most likely due to occult blood loss given the observed steeper decline in ferritin in participants allocated to aspirin.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
BTTT
1. If you have a reason to take aspirin (e.g. because you've had a TIA or stroke, or because you have coronary artery disease) then you have to balance the risk of possible anemia with the risk of stroke or myocardial infarction.
2. Aspirin increases anemia risk by a few separate routes. One would be that the aspirin caused gastritis or an ulcer, and that was the cause of the bleeding. Another would be that you already had a relatively benign reason to have GI or genitourinary bleeding (e.g. hemorrhoids, unknown peptic ulcer disease, kidney stones, small arteriovenous malformations (tufts of blood vessels with a tendency to bleed; these can be found in the gut and elsewhere). Another cause would be that you have an unknown malignancy and the aspirin is causing it to bleed. In that case the anemia would alert you to a problem and potentially save your life.
The bottom line is that it's complicated, and I hope people don't see this study and immediately want to come off of aspirin even though they have a good reason to be on it.
Had a friend whose doctor advised him to take one low dose aspirin a day for his heart. Now you are telling me this. I believe nothing anymore, nothing!
It’s just something to be aware of and counter with additional iron.
Recently my son asked me to pick him up some baby aspirins as his doctor had recommended them. I went to the local Walgreens, and looked all over for them, and wasn’t able to find them. I ended up asking the pharmacist where the baby aspirins are, and she told me they don’t make them anymore because it’s linked to a certain form of autism. What??? I told her, that when I was a kid, there were no such things as baby aspirins, so my mother used to halve a regular Bayer aspirin, crush it in a teaspoon, add a little sugar and water to give to us kids. None of us became autistic, and neither did my two sons who I gave baby aspirins to when they were needed. I ended up getting the low-dose aspirins for him, but I’m still bewildered over the fact that they don’t make baby aspirins at all anymore.
Now called ‘low-dose aspirin’. Readily available.
Low dose aspirin is 81 mg. The aspirin in this study was 100 mg fwiw.
I never heard a connection with autism. The connection I heard was with Reyes Syndrome. That happens when you have chicken pox and take aspirin. Is it possible the nurse misspoke or you misheard?
It was the pharmacist at Walgreen's that said baby aspirin was connected to a certain form of autism. She said that was why they took it off the market. I can't recall the exact name she mentioned. She didn't go into detail as to whether it was connected with chicken pox or not. I had a severe case of chicken pox when I wasn't yet a year old. My mother said it was bad. Caught it from one of my siblings. I have no idea what my mother gave me at the time. Both my sons had chicken pox. The older son's case wasn't bad, but he gave it to the younger son who wasn't a year old yet. He had a very mild case too. My sons are in their 50's, and the pediatrician we had at the time, told me that if the mother had had a severe case of chicken pox as a child, then the children won't get a severe case themselves. I don't remember giving them any aspirins. I don't believe the doctor recommended it. Usually, you just treated the skin eruptions with an ointment to prevent itching.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5044872/
The above is an article connecting acetaminophen and autism, not aspirin. Also, it says the connection I had mentioned between Reyes Syndrome and aspirin and chickenpox was doubtful, since 2007.
So, if I had a kid with a fever, I guess I would have to refresh my knowledge before giving them anything.
Thanks!!
BS as i guess they have so high dollar med to replace it;’)
I have taken an aspirin a day (and a quercetin) for fifty=three years. The last time I had my carotids checked they were singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
For over 3 years, I have taken a low dose aspirin in the morning and another one at bed time. I have an aorta stent, and the head doc re stents recommended one low dose aspirin in the morning and one after dinner before bed time.es a
I also take Eliquis in the morning and evening.
Below are my lab blood ppd values as of the first week June this year.
re Red blood cells count June 2023.
Red blood cells count 4.96 M/uL
norm 4.10 - 5.70 M/uL
Hgb 17.0 g/dL
range 13.0 - 17.0 g/dL
Hematocrit 49.0 %
range 39.0 - 51.0 %
I am 75 Yeats old and suffered chronic headaches. I took full dose aspiring almost daily. Then a few years ago I started having shortness of breath. I had trouble grocery shopping without having to find a place to sit dow. If I stooped to get something from a bottom shelf and then stood up I couldn’t breathe for a few minutes. Taking a shower was a nightmare. Any exertion at all left me feeling like I had to faint.
THen one day when I went for a routine checkup the doctor took a blood sample. He called me the next morning and told me to go to the emergency room right away and get a blood transfusion. He said my blood count was a 6 and should have been much higher.I did what he said, had the transfusion and multiple tests run. I was told not to take aspirin or Aleve or Advil, only Tylenol for pain. Well since I stopped the aspiring I no longer have breathing problems and I no longer have headaches.
I exercise a lot and use aspirin almost daily for muscle soreness. Have for years. No issues with anemia that I know of. Use enteric coated aspirin.
Just look for 81 mg, enteric-coated aspirin. Forget the baby reference.
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