ArticleEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2003
Does aspirin protect against Alzheimer's dementia? A study in a Swedish population-based sample aged > or =80 years.
Article in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 103 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between aspirin use and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European geriatric medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Aspirin Use and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Pooled it
- Long-term low-dose acetylsalicylic use shows protective potential for the development of both vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease in patients with coronary heart disease but not in other individuals from the general population: results from two large cohort studies.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2022Pooled it
- Aspirin Use on Incident Dementia and Mild Cognitive Decline: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Low-Dose Aspirin Use and Cognitive Function in Older Age: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2017Pooled it
- Aspirin as a neuroprotective scaffold in Alzheimer's disease: inflammation, oxidative stress, and future directions.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- JAK/STAT signaling pathway inhibitors in neurodegenerative diseases: current status and future perspectives.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- Cyclooxygenase-1 deletion in 5 × FAD mice protects against microglia-induced neuroinflammation and mitigates cognitive impairment.Translational neurodegeneration · 2025Article
- Aspirin inhibits proteasomal degradation and promotes α-synuclein aggregate clearance through K63 ubiquitination.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Effect of aspirin use on conversion risk from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- The neuroinflammatory role of microglia in Alzheimer's disease and their associated therapeutic targets.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Review
- Direct long-acting antibodies: updating the language of RSV prevention to reflect the evolution of mAbs.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Targeting memory loss with aspirin, a molecular mechanism perspective for future therapeutic approaches.Inflammopharmacology · 2023Review
- Exploring the role of COX-2 in Alzheimer's disease: Potential therapeutic implications of COX-2 inhibitors.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2023Review
- Review
- Effect of Cigarette Smoke Exposure and Aspirin Treatment on Neurotransmitters' Tissue Content in Rats' Hippocampus and Amygdala.Metabolites · 2023Article
- Association of Aspirin Use with Reduced Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease in Elderly Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Article
- Molecular mechanism of acetylsalicylic acid in improving learning and memory impairment in APP/PS1 transgenic mice by inhibiting the abnormal cell cycle re-entry of neurons.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Antiplatelets and Vascular Dementia: A Systematic Review.Journal of aging research · 2022Review
- PCSK9 Inhibitors and Neurocognitive Adverse Drug Reactions: Analysis of Individual Case Safety Reports from the Eudravigilance Database.Drug safety · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveIt has been reported that aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) may protect against dementia of Alzheimer's type and/or vascular dementia. However, co-morbidity and the dose of aspirin may be critical. A major indication for low-dose aspirin is prophylaxis after stroke and transient ischaemic attacks, conditions that may obscure an anti-dementia effect by the drug. Alternatively, low-dose aspirin may be insufficient if the protective effect is due to an anti-inflammatory mechanism. The aim of this study was to assess whether high-dose or low-dose aspirin may protect against Alzheimer's dementia in subjects aged > or =80 years. For comparison, effects of (other) NSAID, paracetamol and D-propoxyphene were studied.
methodsGlobal, cross-sectional, and longitudinal (1991-2000) epidemiological analyses of clinical, cognitive and drug treatment data on 702 individuals 80 years old or more (351 twin pairs of same sex), all alive at inclusion: mean age 83.9 years (80-99 years). Calculations were made with logistic regression of associations between use of various analgesics and cognitive function, after adjustment for age, gender, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
resultsUsers of high-dose aspirin had significantly lower prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia and better-maintained cognitive function than non-users. There were numerically similar but not significant associations with use of low-dose aspirin and other NSAID. There were no such associations with use of either paracetamol or D-propoxyphene.
conclusionAspirin might protect against Alzheimer's disease, but controlled trials are warranted.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.