New study reveals link between aspirin use, Type 2 diabetes

NEW YORK The results of a study published in the American Journal of Medicine suggest there may be an association between aspirin use and a decreased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

To investigate, researchers from University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, analyzed data from the Physician's Health Study, which includes 22,071 seemingly healthy male participants, and has accumulated 22 years of follow-up data.

The participants provide self reports of history of diabetes, aspirin use and various lifestyle factors at study entry and in yearly follow-up questionnaires.

A total of 1,719 cases of diabetes were reported during follow-up. The men who reported taking any aspirin were 14% less likely to develop diabetes, compared with those who did not take aspirin.

Non-aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were not associated with a decreased risk of developing diabetes.

"Decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes may be added to the list of clinical benefits of aspirin," researchers concluded. "Future studies are warranted to further investigate this association."