A study that will be published in the upcoming issue of Thorax suggests that a small dose of aspirin on alternate days may reduce the risk of developing asthma among women. The study included 40,000 female health care professionals. The women were all 45 years old or older and had no serious illness, allergy or asthma at the beginning of the study.

The women who participated in the study were randomly assigned to take 100mg of aspirin every other day, or a placebo. Their health was monitored for 10 years. During this time, there were 10% fewer cases of asthma diagnosed among the women who took aspirin. The effect was evident, regardless of age, menopausal status, exercise levels and smoke, all factors that might be expected to influence the findings. The aspirin regimen did not lessen the risk of asthma in women who were classified as obese.

Several previous studies have suggested that people who take daily aspirin might be less likely to develop new asthma than expected. In asthma there is inflammation in the lungs, and aspirin is known to be a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, so that there is a theoretical rationale for its use.

The study’s authors cautioned against the use of aspirin by women who already have asthma because for a small proportion of people (between 4 and 11 percent) with asthma, aspirin makes the asthma worse and can even induce an acute asthma attack.

Source: British Medical Journal