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Almost 15 Percent of U.S. Seniors Use Aspirin for Primary Prevention

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Posted on July 2025

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on July 10, 2025.

THURSDAY, July 10, 2025 -- Almost 15 percent of U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 years are taking aspirin for primary cardiovascular disease prevention, according to a brief report published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Mark D. Edwards, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted a national survey to assess aspirin use and perceptions among older U.S. adults. Data were collected among 2,657 adults aged 50 to 80 years.

Overall, 23.5 percent of the respondents reported using aspirin; 14.5 percent used aspirin for primary prevention. The researchers found that among all aspirin users, the odds of primary prevention aspirin use were more than twice as high for those aged 50 to 59 and 60 to 69 years versus those aged 70 to 80 years (adjusted odds ratios, 2.24 and 2.12, respectively). Overall, 22.7 percent of primary prevention aspirin users started aspirin without a physician's recommendation, and 8.1 percent had not discussed aspirin use with any health care provider. Most primary prevention aspirin users agreed or strongly agreed that aspirin reduces the risk for heart attack and stroke or transient ischemic attack (95.9 and 93.2 percent, respectively); some believed aspirin reduced the risk for colon cancer or dementia (36.6 and 29.4 percent, respectively). Sixty-eight percent of those taking aspirin for primary prevention agreed that it increases their bleeding risk.

"It appears that older adults taking aspirin may anticipate benefits beyond reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and may not fully understand the added risk of bleeding," Edwards said in a statement.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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