Low-dose aspirin no aid against cognitive decline

(HealthDay)—Low-dose aspirin does not protect against cognitive decline, according to a review published April 20 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Nicola Veronese, M.D., from the Italian Research Council in Padova, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify observational and interventional studies that investigated low-dose aspirin and the incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment.

The researchers identified eight studies (36,196 participants). Over a median of six years of follow-up, chronic use of low-dose aspirin was not associated with onset of dementia or cognitive impairment (five studies; 26,159 participants; odds ratio, 0.82; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.55 to 1.22; P = 0.33), after adjusting for a median of three potential confounders. In three randomized controlled trials (10,037 participants; median follow-up, five years), the use of low-dose aspirin in individuals without dementia was not associated with significantly better global cognition (standardized mean difference, 0.005; 95 percent confidence interval, −0.04 to 0.05; P = 0.84).

"This review found no evidence that low-dose aspirin buffers against cognitive decline or dementia or improves cognitive test scores in randomized controlled trials," the authors write.