Low-Dose Aspirin May Help Stave Off Asthma

A U.S. study of 22,071 healthy male physicians found a low dose of aspirin taken every other day lowered an initial asthma diagnosis by 22 percent.

Dr. Tobias Kurth of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and five associates studied physicians ages 40 to 84 over a period of 4.9 years. Among the 11,037 individuals who took aspirin, 113 new cases of asthma were diagnosed, as compared with 145 in the placebo group.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes potentially irreversible obstructive lung problems. Breathing difficulties from asthma usually occur during attacks, which involve narrowing of the airways, swelling of the lining, tightening of respiratory muscles and an increased secretion of mucus.

Aspirin reduced the risk by 22 percent of newly diagnosed adult-onset asthma, said Kurth. These results suggest that aspirin may reduce the development of asthma in adults. They do not imply that aspirin improves symptoms in patients with asthma.

The findings are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.