Aim of the study: To estimate the number of people treated by low-dose aspirin (<330 mg daily) in France and to evaluate the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding associated with low-dose aspirin treatment.
Subjects and methods: One thousand six hundred and two patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were included between January and June 1996 in 4 French areas. Data about patients characteristics, drugs recently used, and bleeding lesions were prospectively collected. Five hundred seventy five cases were matched for sex, age and area with control people without previous upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Low-dose aspirin intake in the population was estimated from the control group. Aspirin intake in the previous 7 days in cases and in controls was compared by logistic regression, adjusted for other gastrotoxic drugs intake.
Results: Low-dose aspirin is taken by about 1.2 millions adults in France. In 1 602 patients, gastrointestinal bleeding was related to a peptic ulcer in 34%. Aspirin was associated with higher risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding: OR=1.68 (1.03-2.74) with low-dose, and OR 1.42 (0.91-2.21) with higher doses.
Conclusion: About 2.8% of the population is exposed to low-dose aspirin in France. This treatment seems to be associated with a high risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.