Long-term aspirin may cut all-cause mortality in women

Long-term aspirin use may lower the risk of all-cause mortality for women, especially older women and those who have cardio vascular risk factors, according to a report in the March 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Andrew Chan, MD, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues conducted a prospective study of 79,439 women with no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study to determine the influence of long-term aspirin use on total mortality in women.

The authors documented 9,477 deaths during the 24-year study period. Compared with no aspirin use, current use of aspirin cut all-cause mortality by 25% and cardiovascular disease mortality by 38%. The effect was more apparent in older women and in those with cardiovascular risk factors. Any effect on cancer rates, however, was not seen until after 10 years of aspirin use.

Chan AT, Manson JE, Feskanich D, et al. Long-term aspirin use and mortality in women. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:562-572.