Reference no: EM132106764

Is Low Dose Aspirin Beneficial? The Physician's Health Study was conducted to test the hypothesis that 325 mg. of aspirin taken every other day would reduce mortality from cardiovascular. Male physicians 45 to 85 years of age living in the UK in 2001 were eligible to participate. Physicians were excluded if they had a personal history of myocardial infarction, stroke or transient ischemic attack; cancer; current gout; liver, renal or peptic ulcer disease; contraindication to aspirin consumption; current use of aspirin, platelet-active drugs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents; intolerance to aspirin; or inability to comply with the protocol. Eligible subjects who met the inclusion criteria and who successfully completed a run-in phase were randomly assigned to receive aspirin or a placebo. Eventually 1,110 physicians were enrolled; 500 were assigned to aspirin, and 610 were assigned to placebo. The agents (aspirin and placebo) were identical in appearance and were mailed to the subjects. Both participants, research assistant and principal investigators were not aware of the treatment allocated to participant. The recipient's treatment was coded, and neither the subject nor the investigators knew which treatment group a given subject was in. About 100 physicians withdrew from the intervention and 198 from then non-intervention arm (placebo) of the study. Among those who completed the study 50 men died from then intervention arm and 125 men died from the placebo. In the process of the study we then discover that some men died because they didn't not comply with the treatment from both study arms; 11 from intervention and 45 from placebo.