Seniors who take aspirin every day are twice as likely to have late stage macular degeneration — aging macula disorder (AMD) an age-related loss of vision — compared to people who never take the pain reliever, according to a study published in Opthalmology. The study does not show that aspirin causes vision loss.
About four percent of people who took aspirin each day — 36 out of the 839 people in the study had an advanced form of the disease known as wet macular degeneration. The study included 4,691 Norwegian, Estonian, British, French, Italian, Greek and Spanish seniors, age 65 and older.
Researchers found that aspirin use was not tied to the dry form of macular degeneration, nor to earlier stages of the disease.
Monthly aspirin use was reported by 1931 senior (41.2%), at least once weekly by 7%, and daily by 17.3%.
The study was conducted to adjust for possible confounders, such as heart disease (that is, whether the coincidence of heart disease was behind the increased incidence of aging macula disorder). Aspirin use is common in the treatment of heart disease. Researchers warned that aspirin benefits for heart disease still outweigh the risk of aging macula disorder.