Routine use of aspirin in people with diabetes questioned
22 October 2008
If people with the condition are taking aspirin to prevent heart disease, Diabetes UK would certainly not recommend they stop doing so without consulting their GP or healthcare professional for advice 
Caroline Butler, care advisor at Diabetes UK
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Aspirin doesn't help prevent heart attacks in people with diabetes who have no signs of heart disease, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.
In people who have had a heart attack or stroke, or heart disease, aspirin has previously been shown to cut the risk of future incidents by around a quarter. But this latest study shows that aspirin has no such benefit for people with diabetes who have no signs of heart disease.
Several UK guidelines and leading charities recommend a daily low dose of aspirin not only to people with diabetes who have already had heart attacks or stroke, but also to those with diabetes who are at high risk for heart disease. However, this latest study questions whether this advice is appropriate.
Researchers from the University of Dundee randomly gave either aspirin or a placebo after seven years to 1,276 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who had no signs of heart disease. The results showed there was no difference during that time in heart attacks or strokes between the two groups.
Judy O'Sullivan, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study adds weight to the evidence that aspirin should not be prescribed to prevent diseases of the heart and circulation to people with diabetes, and other high risk groups, who don't already have symptoms of the disease."
Long-term use of aspirin causes stomach bleeding and this risk increases with age. Although the calculated risk of major bleeding is relatively small, the number of people taking aspirin is relatively large. This means that, in population terms, aspirin-induced bleeding is a major problem.
Both the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK recommend that people reduce their risk of heart disease by not smoking, eating a healthy diet that’s low in saturated fat, sugar and salt, and rich in fruit and vegetables and they should do regular exercise. They add that people with diabetes on daily aspirin shouldn’t panic or stop taking it without getting advice from their GP first.
Both charities stress that people already taking daily aspirin should not stop taking it without first talking to their GP.
"If people with the condition are taking aspirin to prevent heart disease, Diabetes UK would certainly not recommend they stop doing so without consulting their GP or healthcare professional for advice," said Caroline Butler, care advisor at Diabetes UK.
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