HealthPartners Institute plays important role in new aspirin recommendations

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Research from HealthPartners Institute contributed to the final recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks, stroke and colorectal cancer.

The USPSTF published the recommendation today to help people and their clinicians understand who can benefit the most from taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease and colon cancer. While it can help, it also increases the risk of bleeding in the stomach and intestines, strokes caused by bleeding in the brain and other complications. The USPSTF concluded that daily use of low-dose aspirin has the most overall benefit for people 50 to 59 years old, who have an increased risk of heart attack or stroke and are not at increased risk for bleeding.

Evidence used in USPSTF recommendation

The USPSTF based the final recommendation on three separate reviews of aspirin studies by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Research Affiliates and an analysis by HealthPartners Institute researchers. HealthPartners Institute investigators used results from the research review to predict what effect aspirin use would have in specific groups of people over a period of time. To determine that, HealthPartners Institute used a tool it had created called the ModelHealth™: Cardiovascular Disease microsimulation model. The tool predicts the incidence of cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer cases and adverse events experienced by people under two scenarios: using aspirin and not using aspirin. Comparing those two scenarios shows the balance of benefits and harms from aspirin use.

Members of the USPSTF used the modeling results and the research review to make the final recommendation about clinical practice guidelines.

Guidelines address leading causes of death

CVD and colorectal cancer are major causes of death for adults in the U.S. In 2011 over half of all deaths in the U.S. were caused by heart disease, cancer or stroke. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women and a leading cause of cancer death.

The USPSTF is an independent panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that works to improve the health of all Americans by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, counseling services, and preventive medications.

The full recommendation on aspirin use and evidence reviews are published in the April 12, 2016 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.