Association of Aspirin Use With Major Bleeding in Patients With and Without Diabetes

Jama.jamanetwork.com: June 6, 2012.
The benefit of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events is relatively small for individuals with and without diabetes. This benefit could easily be offset by the risk of hemorrhage.

Objective  To determine the incidence of major gastrointestinal and intracranial bleeding episodes in individuals with and without diabetes taking aspirin.

Design, Setting, and Participants  A population-based cohort study, using administrative data from 4.1 million citizens in 12 local health authorities in Puglia, Italy. Individuals with new prescriptions for low-dose aspirin (≤300 mg) were identified during the index period from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2008, and were propensity-matched on a 1-to-1 basis with individuals who did not take aspirin during this period.

Main Outcome Measures  Hospitalizations for major gastrointestinal bleeding or cerebral hemorrhage occurring after the initiation of antiplatelet therapy. Read more