Long-Term Aspirin Use and 5-Year Survival in Healthy Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study in South Korea.

Purpose: We investigated whether long-term aspirin use is associated with 5-year all-cause mortality.
Materials and Methods: Participants were individuals aged ≥40 years who were registered in the 2010 sample cohort database of the National Health Insurance Service in South Korea. Aspirin users were divided into three groups: continuous users (2006-2010), previous users (2006-2009), and new users (2010). Individuals with a history of coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease were excluded. Five-year all-cause mortality was defined as mortality due to any cause from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015. Data were analyzed by multivariable Cox regression.
Results: In total, 424444 individuals were included. Five-year all-cause mortality was 9% lower in continuous aspirin users than in unexposed individuals [hazard ratio (HR): 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86-0.97; p =0.003]. Five-year all-cause mortality rates in the new aspirin users (HR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.90-1.11; p =0.995) and previous aspirin users (HR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.94-1.09; p =0.776) were not significantly different from that in unexposed individuals. In the 40-60-year age group, 5-year all-cause mortality in the continuous aspirin users was 24% lower (HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.64-0.90; p =0.002) than that in unexposed individuals. However, in the >60-year age group, there was no significant association between aspirin use and 5-year all-cause mortality (HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.90-1.02; p =0.199).
Conclusion: Long-term aspirin use is associated with reduced 5-year all-cause mortality in healthy adults, especially those aged <60 years.
Competing Interests: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
(© Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2020.)