According to a national survey conducted in US, it was revealed that more than 50% of adults in the US are taking a daily dose of aspirin as a preventive medicine of cardiovascular event, though FDA does not recommend it to those who have not had a heart attack or stroke. Besides those events, some studies have suggested a role for aspirin in preventing cancer, especially colon cancer.

The survey has studied 2,500 respondents aged 45-75, and 52 percent of them reported current aspirin use. “The use of aspirin is still a very contentious issue among medical experts. The support of its use in primary prevention is more of a mixed bag,” said Craig Williams of Oregon State University.

However, there was also an increase in the side effects of aspirin, like bleeding both into the bowel and brain, said researchers recently."But this survey clearly shows that more and more people who have not experienced those events and are not technically considered at high risk by the FDA are also deciding to use aspirin, usually in consultation with their doctors," Williams added.

Ever since Aspirin has been introduced, its use in treating wide range of aliments right from headache to cardiovascular events has been increasing. Recently, the researchers have proved that Aspirin can also be used in preventing cancers and most particularly bowel cancer. The link between aspirin and cancer was found in 7 trials on 23,000 people who were given it to monitor prevention of strokes and heart attacks, besides cancer. The results showed a link between aspirin and a 34 percent reduction in deaths from all cancers and a 54 percent reduction in gastrointestinal cancer.

The results were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

AW: Lizitha