Association between aspirin use and decline in intrinsic capacity among community-dwelling elderly: a study based on...

This study examines the connection between the substantial reduction in intrinsic capacity (IC) and unfavorable outcomes across a number of IC subdomains among older adults living in Chinese communities and the use of aspirin, both alone and in combination with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ACEI or ARBs).

A 1:1 closest-neighbor propensity score matching (PSM) strategy was used to reduce baseline confounding factors across aspirin users and non-users using cross-sectional data from the Lianyungang ICOPE pilot trial. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between aspirin use and a significant deterioration in IC as well as unfavorable outcomes in several IC subdomains (sensory, physical, neuropsychiatric, and nutritional function).

A total of 250 participants were analyzed after propensity score matching. The likelihood of a severe loss of intrinsic capacity was not substantially correlated with aspirin use alone (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88-2.71, p = 0.134). However, aspirin use was strongly linked to negative outcomes in sensory function, including very poor vision (adjusted OR = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.10-7.94, p = 0.032), poor hearing (adjusted OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.29-7.97, p = 0.012), and very poor hearing (adjusted OR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.02-4.24, p = 0.045), all of which were statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Aspirin use was not significantly correlated with negative outcomes in the categories of nutritional function, neuropsychiatry, or physical health. The incidence of severe loss of intrinsic ability was significantly reduced when aspirin was used in conjunction with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a sex variability in the relationship between aspirin use and sensory function-related outcomes.