An aspirin a day isn’t much use, study finds

An aspirin a day may not keep the doctor away, new research suggests.

A low daily dose of the blood-thinning medicine has limited health benefits for older people hoping to prolong good health, a study involving more than 19,000 participants found.

Aspirin did not significantly reduce the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or extend life free of disability or dementia among healthy adults over the age of 70, a comprehensive study found. However the medicine was linked with an increased risk of serious bleeding, in line with previous findings.

Lead researcher Professor John Mcneil, of Monash University, Australia, said the findings show many older people may be taking the medicine “unnecessarily”.

He warned that the results do not apply to people with existing conditions such as a previous heart attack, angina or stroke, where aspirin is recommended to prevent further illness.

The results of the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly trial have been published in three papers in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A total of 19,114 people, mostly over the age of 70, took part in the study. which ran for five years.