MONDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Low-dose aspirin does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a report published in the Nov. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and released online Nov. 9 to coincide with the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions held Nov. 8 to 12 in New Orleans.
Hisao Ogawa, M.D., Ph.D., from Kumamoto University in Kumamoto City, Japan, and colleagues randomly assigned 2,539 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and no history of atherosclerotic disease to low-dose aspirin (81 mg or 100 mg per day) or non-aspirin.
During a mean follow-up of 4.37 years, the researchers documented 154 atherosclerotic events (outcomes including fatal or non-fatal ischemic heart disease, fatal or non-fatal stroke, and peripheral arterial disease), with similar numbers in the aspirin and non-aspirin groups (68 versus 86, respectively, hazard ratio 0.80). Similar numbers of patients in the aspirin and non-aspirin group died from any cause (34 versus 38, respectively, hazard ratio 0.90), and similar numbers had hemorrhagic stroke and significant gastrointestinal bleeding, the results show. However, significantly fewer patients receiving aspirin experienced fatal coronary events and fatal cerebrovascular events (1 versus 10, hazard ratio 0.10).
"These findings should be interpreted in context with the low incidence of atherosclerotic disease in Japan and the current management practice for cardiovascular risk factors and suggest the need to conduct additional studies of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients," Ogawa and colleagues conclude.
Several of the study authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.
Abstract
Full Text
Editorial
More Information
