Original articleLow-Dose Aspirin and Medical Record–Confirmed Age-related Macular Degeneration in a Randomized Trial of Women
Section snippets
Study Design
The WHS was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2×2 factorial trial testing low-dose aspirin (100 mg every other day) and vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer among 39 876 female health professionals aged 45 years or older.30, 31 A third component, β-carotene, was terminated early in January 1996 after a median treatment duration of 2.1 years.32, 33 Baseline information included height, weight, history of cigarette smoking, history of alcohol use,
Results
The baseline characteristics of participants in the aspirin and placebo groups are shown in Table 1. As expected in this large, randomized trial, baseline characteristics were distributed equally between the 2 treatment groups.
During an average of 10 years of treatment and follow-up, a total of 245 cases of visually significant AMD were confirmed. More than 80% of these cases were characterized by some combination of drusen and RPE changes at the time vision was first noted to be 20/30 or
Discussion
In this large randomized trial, women assigned to alternate-day treatment with low-dose aspirin and followed up for an average of 10 years had a nonsignificant 18% reduced risk of visually significant AMD compared with women assigned to placebo. The 95% CI around this estimate could not rule out a possible beneficial effect as large as 36%, or a small harmful effect of 6% or less. Aspirin treatment seemed to have little effect on the end points of advanced AMD or all AMD cases with or without
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Cited by (53)
Effects of systemic drugs on the development and progression of age-related macular degeneration
2023, Survey of OphthalmologyAssociation between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and development of age-related macular degeneration—A 10-year retrospective cohort study
2023, Journal of the Formosan Medical AssociationBaseline characteristics and age-related macular degeneration in participants of the “ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly” (ASPREE)-AMD trial
2020, Contemporary Clinical Trials CommunicationsCitation Excerpt :However, aspirin could also exacerbate retinal hemorrhages in late AMD [16–21]. Consistent with this paradox, previous observational and experimental studies in AMD have reported differing results related to risks and benefits of aspirin [14–19,21–34]. Meta-analyses have similarly not yielded definitive conclusions [20,35–37].
The Relationship Between Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Use and Age-related Macular Degeneration
2018, American Journal of OphthalmologyCitation Excerpt :Neither study demonstrated a significant difference in AMD risk with aspirin use. When data from both studies were combined there was a statistically insignificant trend toward an 18% reduction in the risk of visually significant AMD.5,14 Both studies examined healthcare professionals who may not be representative of the general population owing to their theoretical inclination for healthier lifestyles.15
Available online: October 7, 2009.
Manuscript no. 2008-1509.
Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Supported by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (grant nos.: CA47988, HL43851, and EY06633). Pills and packaging were provided by Bayer Healthcare and the Natural Source Vitamin E Association.