Older adults have long been told to take a daily low-dose aspirin to help prevent heart disease, and about half of older people in the US do so. One of the complications of aspirin use is an increased risk for major bleeding, particularly gastrointestinal bleeding. Although the risk for overt bleeding due to aspirin has been well characterized, very few studies have looked at the effect of aspirin on anemia, according to researchers from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, who did just that.

The trial included 19,114 individuals ages 70 or older who were randomly assigned to take 100 mg of aspirin daily or placebo. Hemoglobin and other blood measures were assessed during a follow-up of close to five years.

Daily low-dose aspirin increased the risk of anemia by about 20%, much of it due to occult (non-visible). blood loss.  The authors recommend that hemoglobin, the key constituent of red blood, be monitored in older people taking aspirin. Fuel for thought.

To read the abstract of the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, click here