Low-dose aspirin may cut incident diabetes risk for older adults
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Key takeaways:
- Older adults receiving aspirin have a 15% lower risk for developing diabetes compared with placebo.
- Guidance on aspirin use for older adults should not change due to bleeding risks, researchers said.
Low-dose aspirin may help lower the risk for developing diabetes among older adults, according to data that will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting.
In a post hoc analysis of a trial in which older adults without cardiovascular disease, diabetes, physical disability or dementia were randomly assigned to 100 mg aspirin or placebo daily, those receiving aspirin had a 15% lower risk for developing new-onset diabetes compared with the placebo group.
“Aspirin treatment reduced incident diabetes and slowed the increase in fasting plasma glucose over time among initially healthy older adults,” Sophia Zoungas, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, head of the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University in Australia, and colleagues wrote in a meeting abstract. “Given the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes among older adults, the potential for anti-inflammatory agents like aspirin to prevent type 2 diabetes or improve glucose levels needs further study.”
Researchers analyzed data from the ASPREE study, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which 16,209 older adults aged 65 years and older were randomly assigned, 1:1, to 100 mg enteric-coated aspirin (n = 8,086) or placebo (n = 8,123) daily. Participants were considered to have developed incident diabetes if it was self-reported, glucose-lowering medication was initiated, or if they had a FPG of 7 mmol/L or higher at an annual follow-up.
During a median follow-up of 4.7 years, there were 995 adults who were diagnosed with new-onset diabetes. Of those with incident diabetes, 459 were in the aspirin group and 536 were in the placebo group. Adults receiving aspirin had a lower risk for developing diabetes compared with placebo (HR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.91; P = .01). Those receiving aspirin had a 0.006 mmol/L slower increase in annual FPG compared with placebo (P = .004).
In a press release, Zoungas said the findings should not change guidance regarding the use of aspirin in older adults due to risks that were found during the ASPREE trial.
“The earlier published trial findings from ASPREE in 2018 showed aspirin did not prolong healthy independent living, but was associated with a significantly increased risk of bleeding, primarily in the gastrointestinal tract,” Zoungas said in the release. “Major prescribing guidelines now recommend older adults take daily aspirin only when there is a medical reason to do so, such as after a heart attack.”
Reference:
Study shows that low-dose aspirin associated with a 15% lower risk of developing diabetes in people aged over 65 years. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1000081. Published Aug. 31, 2023. Accessed Sept. 7, 2023.
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Zoungas S, et al. Abstract 175. Presented at: European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting; Oct. 2-6, 2023; Hamburg, Germany.
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