Aspirin Side Effects Linked to Higher Risk of Crohn’s Disease: Study

The findings of a recent study by British researchers indicate that the side effects of aspirin used daily may increase the risk of developing the bowel condition Crohn’s disease. 

Dr. Andrew Hart, a senior lecturer at the University or East Anglia School of Medicine, presented his findings at the Digestive Disease Week conference in New Orleans earlier this month. Hart found that people who took aspirin on a daily basis were at an increased risk for developing Crohn’s disease, which is an inflammatory disease of the intestines that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, causing a wide variety of symptoms.

Researchers looked at about 200,000 subjects from several European countries between the ages of 30 and 74. They found that regular aspirin use for more than a year increased the risk of developing Crohn’s disease by a factor of five.

Crohn’s disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects all layers of the intestinal wall in the small and large intestines, as well as other digestive organs and can cause parts of the intestines to narrow, cause the formation of abnormal tunnels between digestive organs, and cause fissures in the anal skin. The ailment affects about 500,000 Americans and is believed to increase the risk of developing bowel cancer.

However, Dr. Hart warned that the number of people at increased risk was relatively small, and that aspirin’s beneficial effects on heart disease were still considerable and should be considered.

The researchers say the study does not create a direct causative link between aspirin use and Crohn’s disease. Hart estimated that the findings indicate that about one in 2,000 people who regularly take aspirin were at increased risk of developing the bowel disease.