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A study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine reveals that low dose aspirin therapy does not have the same benefits for women as it does for men.

For decades, researchers have conducted medical studies on male subjects and then assumed that the same results apply to women. But differences in women's biochemistry, hormone profiles, and body composition make a big difference in the way they react to drug therapies. A new study illustrates just how important those differences can be.

Low dose aspirin therapy (a dose of 100 mg per day or less) is widely recommended as an effective way to reduce your risk of a heart attack. Although aspirin use can cause gastric irritation and/or bleeding, the benefits seem to outweigh the possible risks. Or do they?

New results from the Women's Health Study, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, reveal that for women, low dose aspirin therapy does not reduce the incidence of heart attacks or the risk of death. The study found that low dose aspirin therapy did lower a woman's risk of having a stroke, but even this benefit was minimal for women under 65.

Given these new findings, it now appears that the benefits of aspirin therapy for women under 65 may not justify the risks. Women considering low dose aspirin therapy should discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks with their health care professionals.

There are larger implictions to this latest finding. Until very recently, the vast majority of medical research was conducted on men but the results were applied to men and women alike. For example, when researchers found that men who consumed 2 to 3 alcoholic drinks a day had a lower risk of heart disease, it was assumed that these findings would apply to women as well. However, further research ultimately revealed that for women, drinking more than one alcoholic drink a day substantially increases the risk of breast cancer.

Large studies like the Women's Health Study are now beginning to give us a better understanding of the differences between men and women, but much more research is needed. In the meantime, we need to keep in mind that much of what we think we know about lifestyle and disease risk may only be true for half the population.

For more information: American Heart Association

Sources: Paul M Ridker, M.D., Nancy R. Cook, Sc.D., et al. A Randomized Trial of Low-Dose Aspirin in the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women. The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 352, no. 13 (March 31, 2005), pp. 1293-1304. Link to article