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 The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said it
plans to update its 2016 recommendation as there is new evidence
that the risk of potentially life-threatening internal bleeding from
regular aspirin use increases with age.
The task force, a panel of 16 independent experts in disease
prevention appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, also said evidence was insufficient to say that low-dose
aspirin use reduces the occurrence or death due to colorectal
cancer.
The recommendation, if finalized, would replace an earlier one from
the panel, which in 2016 said https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-heart-aspirin-idUSKCN0X82I8
daily low-dose aspirin may also help protect against colorectal
cancer in people who are taking it to prevent heart attacks and
strokes.
The new recommendation does not include people who have previously
suffered a heart attack or stroke and taking daily aspirin to
prevent a subsequent cardiovascular event. The panel said they
should continue the regimen unless told otherwise by their
clinician.
"It's hard to know the degree to which any particular piece of
evidence, whether an individual study or a practice guideline, will
ultimately move the field," said Caleb Alexander, professor of
epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who
was not a member of the task force.
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 Aspirin, used for decades for
pain and fever and available without a
prescription, was seen as a convenient and cheap
option to help those at risk of serious heart
problems.
Researchers have been assessing daily low-dose
aspirin use for people who do not have a history
of heart disease but who are at high risk of
developing it due to health issues such as high
cholesterol and blood pressure.
"It's important that people who are 40 to 59
years old and don't have a history of heart
disease have a conversation with their clinician
to decide together if starting to take aspirin
is right for them," task force member John Wong
said in a statement.
For people aged 50 to 59, the USPSTF previously
recommended the pill only for those who have at
least a 10% risk of heart attack or stroke over
the next decade and who do not have a
higher-than-average risk of bleeding.
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru;
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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