Taking aspirin as few times as once a week triples risk of blindness

[BABY1]

TweetNaturalNews) Many conventional doctors advise their patients to pop one every day like a multivitamin in order to supposedly ward off heart attacks, strokes, and even cancer. But taking an aspirin as few times as once a week, especially when you are not actually sick or in pain, can be incredibly dangerous, especially for your eyesight. This is the conclusion of a recent study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which found that "supplementing" at least once a week with aspirin can triple the risk of going blind.

For their study, researchers from Australia tracked nearly 2,400 middle-aged and elderly individuals for 15 years. Among this group, 257 individuals were determined to be "regular" uses of aspirin who took the drug at least once a week, while the rest were occasional users that took the drug less frequently. All participants were evaluated at the end of the study to determine their health status in conjunction with aspirin intake.

Upon analysis, the team found that only one in 27 of the "occasional" aspirin users developed a condition known as "wet" age-related macular degeneration, or neovascular AMD, which can lead to blindness. This figure represents 3.7 percent of all "occasional" users. But among "regular" aspirin users, nearly one in 10 developed the condition, or 9.4 percent, which represents a nearly threefold increase in blindness risk among those who take aspirin at least once a week.

"Regular aspirin use was significantly associated with an increased incidence of neovascular [wet] AMD," wrote the authors in their study conclusion. "The increased risk of age-related macular degeneration was only detected after 10 or 15 years, suggesting cumulative dosage of aspirin may be important," added study author Jie Jin Wang from the University of Sydney.

The study's authors and other commentators were quick to dismiss the findings, suggesting that they do not imply that patients should stop taking daily aspirin for disease prevention -- after all, just think of the immense profit losses that would result for the pharmaceutical industry. Some doctors even went so far as to manufacture ridiculous fear phrases like, "a healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body," suggesting that not taking aspirin will somehow kill you.

At the same time, these same doctors and researchers were unable to deny the fact that previous studies have also found a link between aspirin intake and blindness, including a 2011 study out of Europe which found that daily aspirin intake can double the risk of vision loss. Similarly, other previous studies have uncovered the fact that low-dose aspirin intake can lead to other serious health problems including intestinal bleeding and ulcers.

Learn more: Taking aspirin as few times as once a week triples risk of blindness

[BIGMOFO]

Tweetnever read this, my dr has me taking 1 a day! hmmmm

[Dzone]

TweetGood thing they are finding this out because a lot of people are taking daily aspirin

[sensitivenips]

Tweetalways something bad that comes with the good.

[bandaidwoman]

Tweetprimary prevention with aspirin ( especially in women) doesn't work. ( Preventing that first attack). If I tell my patients who have had a heart attack to stop taking aspirin and they have a heart attack, I can be sued successfully since secondary prevention ( preventing second heart attack ) the data is pretty damn good. If someone has had a TIA, they need to take an aspirin. This just confirms what most of us are already doing, not using aspirin for for primary prevention but believe or not , health insurance companies judge my 'quality' as a physician on whether I am telling my diabetics and elderly men to take aspirin as primary prevention!

[bandaidwoman]

TweetNow don't base conclusions on one study. in the famous 10-year Women's Health Study (WHS) over 34,000 women were studies and low dose aspirin that decreased age related macular degeneration. When two large studies conflict, the association may not be real ( vs. true causation)

[bandaidwoman]

TweetThis study by the way was retrospective and relied on patient history, so it has tons of room for confounding biological and social variables ( for instance, I have patients think taking plavix, tylenol or advil is an aspirin. )

[bandaidwoman]

TweetHere is a synopsis of the vigorous data for secondary prevention with aspirin but dubious benefit of using aspirin for primary preventin.
Aspirin in the primary and secondary prevention of vascular disease: collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data from randomised trials

[unclem]

Tweetbandaide woman did u get my pm on Ritalin?

[rnixon]

TweetThere's a topic on its own. Ritalin. I know everyone is against it but I tell u my gf's son has odd an man do the drugs they finally decided to put him on help. I don't think it is Ritalin but he takes two kinds one at night. Sorry no Hijack :-)

[bandaidwoman]

Tweet

bandaide woman did u get my pm on Ritalin?

i got two emails, one i tried to respond and it said failure to deliver, the other i responded to your email