Should You Take Daily Aspirin?
Advice has changed, but misconceptions remain
Welcome back to your weekly dose of wisdom and wellness, helping you make tomorrow a little better than today. In this weekly newsletter you’ll find links to several in-depth, actionable stories by Wise & Well’s team of journalists, topical experts and practicing professionals. First, this week’s news brief:
More than half of US adults 40 and older agree with the notion that for most adults, “the benefits of taking a low-dose aspirin every day to reduce the chance of heart attack or stroke outweigh the risks,” according to a new survey.
That once-common advice from doctors, typically given to people 50 and older, was debunked several years ago, however.
Daily aspirin had been touted as a safe way to thin blood, thereby reducing the risk of clotting that can cause a heart attack or stroke. But long-term use comes with serious side-effects, including internal bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
Now, only people with a personal history of heart attack, or who are at high risk given other factors, might be advised to take daily aspirin, and it should only be done at the recommendation of a physician after weighing the benefits and risks for a given person.
A lot of people — 22% of those 60 and older—act on the old advice:
“Habits backed by conventional wisdom and the past advice of health care providers are hard to break,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center and director of the survey. “Knowing whether taking a low-dose aspirin daily is advisable or not for you is vital health information.”
You’ll find a detailed account of the latest advice on low-dose aspirin, and some history of the changes in advice, in this Wise & Well story from last year, in which previous research indicated that more than half of the people taking daily aspirin had no history of heart disease and should not be using it. The bottom line: If you take aspirin regularly, or think you should, first consult a physician who is up to speed on the latest recommendations.
—Robert Roy Britt
THIS WEEK’S OTHER FEATURES
A selection of our informative, entertaining and actionable stories
Raising Kids Doesn’t Have to Be Like Herding Cats
Everyone’s got plenty of parenting advice, but any parent knows that most of it rings hollow when the going gets tough. This psychologist cuts through the common advice to offer a deeper strategy that will sound counterintuitive to many: Trust your kids! Then work to steer them, not herd them. After all, they’re not cats. Not exactly, anyway.
The parent-child bond is grounded in a secure attachment. Children need to feel understood, loved, and trust that you are attuned to their needs. This involves empathy for what the child is feeling — even when you disagree or feel frustrated with their behavior. Attunement does not mean hovering or caving in to every demand. Instead, it requires an understanding of your child’s unique temperament, their developmental level, and how to best respond in any given situation.
—Gail Post, Ph.D.
My Meds: 28 Pills a Day Plus Fentanyl
Speaking of drugs we might not need… The writer of this next story has vast experience with medications, which he’s come to realize as a classic American case of polypharmacy, the surprisingly common prescription of so many drugs, including some to counteract side effects of others, that he’s no longer sure which ones he needs and which ones he might be able to stop. The notion of “deprescription” is something most doctors aren’t trained on, but there’s a tremendous need for.
I can’t remember just when what doctor added what drug, which is part of the problem. Over time, the number of medications built up. A move from my previous prescribers in Tennessee to new ones in the Philly area just meant my roster of drugs transferred.
— Randall H. Duckett
An Insider’s View of America’s Broken Healthcare System
The writer was once part of the problem with US health insurance and the coverage many people rely on but are frequently denied, and she just couldn’t take it anymore. So from her we get an honest look at how claims are handled (that is, shunted aside). Yeah, you probably won’t be surprised.
Throughout the company, everyone began to feel pressure to spend less on our members’ claims. While our customer service department shrank, our legal department swelled. Even our internal language changed: Doctors became “providers” and our customers became “policyholders.” I was beginning to realize that my number-one responsibility wasn’t to enhance my company’s reputation. It was to ensure its soaring profitability.
—Kathleen Murphy
Should We Vape Our Vitamins?
Among the marketing tricks used to peddle unhealthy products is to make them sound healthy. Among the most egregious examples is the trend to put vitamins in vapes. If it sounds stupid, that’s because it is. But still, we need a scientist to peer through the haze of vague claims to explain exactly why they are stupid. Here’s a hint of where this story is going:
Until a few thousand years ago, no creature voluntarily burned and sucked other materials into their lungs. We absorb vitamins and minerals through the digestive tract or synthesize them inside the skin (vitamin D) or in the intestine by our gut microbiome.
—Sam Westreich, PhD
Bird Flu FAQ: How Do People Catch It? Is it Deadly? Are Eggs Safe to Eat?
This unusually virulent flu virus has spread from wild birds to chickens and cows, and now cats and humans—killing hundreds of people around the world and posing a growing threat to human health. Wise & Well answers a dozen key questions about the disease, what we know now, and what may lie ahead.
It’s not a pandemic yet, but some scientists are starting to use the p-word to describe the future potential of the rapidly spreading, always-mutating, highly deadly avian influenza virus. While there’s certainly no need for panic, increased personal vigilance and public surveillance efforts are clearly warranted, a growing chorus of health experts and research scientists say.
—Robert Roy Britt
Morning is the Happiest Time of Day (for Most People)
If you’re a night owl, know that you’re completely normal. Human chronotypes—when our body clocks suggest we go to sleep and when to wake up—vary by up to 10 hours. But there can be serious health consequences to being a night owl—if you’re forced to get up early for work, school or other responsibilities. The latest research suggests something else you’ll want to consider:
Happiness and other measures of well-being peak shortly after people wake up, and reach a low ebb at night, with the nadir coming at midnight, according to the analysis of results from multiple surveys of 49,218 UK adults across two years.
—Robert Roy Britt
Last but not least week, an important long read…
Fake Scientific Papers Contaminate Legitimate Scholarly Output
This investigative report exposes insidious sham “science” journals that give good science a bad name by churning out mass quantities of bogus research papers purely for profit. The story serves as a healthy reminder — to readers, writers and publishers — to seek information only from credible sources. For the record: Wise & Well works hard to cite credible scientists, quality research and well-respected journals. It hurts knowing there are scammers out there playing off the respectability of science. And that’s why we published this story, from our partner, The Conversation.
I hope we’ve helped make your tomorrow a little better than today.
Cheers,
Rob