Low dose aspirin protects against asthma

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

People taking low dose aspirin are less likely to develop asthma, according to a large study.
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease, which affects more than 20 million Americans. Aspirin is sometimes seen as a contraindication for people with asthma. But a new report from the long-running Physicians' Health Study now seems to suggest that aspirin could exert a protective effect against asthma.

The study involved over 22,000 healthy male physicians taking either low-dose aspirin or placebo every other day for nearly five years. There were 113 new cases of asthma in the aspirin group and 145 in the placebo group. Therefore, aspirin was associated with a 22 per cent reduction in risk of newly-diagnosed adult-onset asthma. However, the trial was actually designed to assess whether aspirin could reduce the risk of heart attack - which it does. The benefit in asthma prevention was an unexpected bonus. There is a need for further trials of low dose aspirin, with asthma as the focus.

Source
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine January 2007

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