Aspirin link to eye problems in elderly
Source: Agencies |
October 4, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
OLDER people who take aspirin daily are twice as likely to have late stage macular degeneration, an age-related loss of vision, than people who never take the pain reliever, according to a European study.
Its findings do not show that aspirin causes a loss of vision. But the study, published in Ophthalmology magazine, is of concern if aspirin somehow exacerbates the eye disorder, given how many elderly people take it daily for heart disease.
Researchers led by Paulus de Jong at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and Academic Medical Center collected health and lifestyle information from nearly 4,700 people over the age of 65. The study included Norwegian, Estonian, British, French, Italian, Greek and Spanish people.
Of the 839 who took aspirin each day, 36 had an advanced form of the disease called wet macular degeneration - or about four out of every 100 daily aspirin users.
In comparison, roughly two out of every 100 who took aspirin less frequently had the same type of macular degeneration.
The wet form of the condition, caused by leaking blood vessels in the eyes, leads to a diminution in the center of the field of vision. The dry form is more common and less severe, although people still suffer visual impairment.
Together, wet and dry macular degeneration make up the leading causes of vision loss among people over 60.
The researchers found that aspirin use was not tied to the dry form, nor to earlier stages of the disease.
"For people who have age-related macular degeneration, it probably isn't wise to recommend taking aspirin," said William Christen of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study.
De Jong said there has been controversy over the link between cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration.
He said his team had analyzed as "meticulously as possible" whether cardiovascular disease might have influenced the results, and still found that aspirin users - regardless of their heart health - were at a greater risk of the more serious type of vision loss.
But for people with cardiovascular disease who take aspirin to prevent the condition from worsening, the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks to the eyes, he said. "A healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body."
Its findings do not show that aspirin causes a loss of vision. But the study, published in Ophthalmology magazine, is of concern if aspirin somehow exacerbates the eye disorder, given how many elderly people take it daily for heart disease.
Researchers led by Paulus de Jong at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and Academic Medical Center collected health and lifestyle information from nearly 4,700 people over the age of 65. The study included Norwegian, Estonian, British, French, Italian, Greek and Spanish people.
Of the 839 who took aspirin each day, 36 had an advanced form of the disease called wet macular degeneration - or about four out of every 100 daily aspirin users.
In comparison, roughly two out of every 100 who took aspirin less frequently had the same type of macular degeneration.
The wet form of the condition, caused by leaking blood vessels in the eyes, leads to a diminution in the center of the field of vision. The dry form is more common and less severe, although people still suffer visual impairment.
Together, wet and dry macular degeneration make up the leading causes of vision loss among people over 60.
The researchers found that aspirin use was not tied to the dry form, nor to earlier stages of the disease.
"For people who have age-related macular degeneration, it probably isn't wise to recommend taking aspirin," said William Christen of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study.
De Jong said there has been controversy over the link between cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration.
He said his team had analyzed as "meticulously as possible" whether cardiovascular disease might have influenced the results, and still found that aspirin users - regardless of their heart health - were at a greater risk of the more serious type of vision loss.
But for people with cardiovascular disease who take aspirin to prevent the condition from worsening, the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks to the eyes, he said. "A healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body."
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