Aspirin Use among Older Adults: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

Last week, we reported on findings from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging that examined aspirin use among older adults.

The study

Researchers asked a national sample of adults aged 50 to 80 years (n=2657) about their use of aspirin, reasons for use, and its perceived risks and benefits. The survey was administered online and via phone from July 17, 2023, to August 7, 2023.

The findings

Results showed that, overall, 25% of respondents reported regular aspirin use—classified as ≥3 times a week—and 14% reported regular aspirin use without a history of CVD.

In all, 57% of adults aged 50 to 80 years who reported taking aspirin regularly also said they do not have a history of CVD.

More than 7 in 10 (77%) of respondents without a history of CVD reported that they started taking aspirin at the recommendation of their health care provider— and most of them said they were advised to do so by primary care providers (62%)—whereas 34% of all older adults started aspirin use on their own without consulting a health care provider.

Authors' comment

"Health care providers should review recent guideline changes to make sure that they are discussing aspirin use with older adults in a way that is consistent with current recommendations. There is an important opportunity for health care providers to discuss, educate, and ensure the appropriate use of aspirin to maximize the benefits and minimize the harms of this commonly used medication."

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