Aspirin Is Twice As Likely To Cause Bleeding If The Stomach Is Infected With This Bacterium

Aspirin is twice as likely to cause bleeding if the stomach is infected with this bacterium

Scientists have found that bacteria in the stomachs of 75% of Russians radically increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding when taking aspirin. The results of the new study are published in The Medical Journal of Australia.

Helicobacter pylori. Photo: Wikimedia Commons /

Scientists have found that bacteria in the stomachs of 75% of Russians radically increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding when taking aspirin. The results of the new study are published in The Medical Journal of Australia.

Aspirin is one of the most commonly used drugs worldwide. Over the past decades, it has been taken in small doses by millions of people to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. It's no secret that it has a serious side effect - gastrointestinal bleeding. A new Australian study shows that one type of bacteria that lives in the stomach and intestines, when combined with aspirin, can more than double the risk of such bleeding.

For some time, small doses of aspirin have often been suggested as a preventative measure for many diseases, from colon cancer to Alzheimer's. However, one large clinical study has shown that many healthy patients can use this drug when they don't need it. The researchers concluded that healthy older adults may not get any benefits from taking small doses of aspirin every day.

In addition to the lack of benefit, it can also cause harm, causing bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The number of such cases increases with the age of patients, as more and more elderly people start taking aspirin daily.

Helicobacter pylori is a very common bacterium that is found in the upper gastrointestinal tract of a large number of people. These bacteria became especially famous in the early 1980s, when scientists found out that they are directly related to the development of stomach ulcers, but most people who are infected with these bacteria do not develop stomach ulcers. There is insufficient data on the prevalence of infection in Russia, but studies carried out in certain regions show that up to 70% of Russians are infected with Helicobacter.

Since bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract can be caused by either aspirin or Helicobacter pylori, a new study by Australian scientists showed that patients taking small doses of aspirin daily and infected with Helicobacter pylori are almost two and a half times more likely to suffer from such bleeding due to compared to patients not infected with it.

The researchers conclude that the presence of Helicobacter pylori certainly increases the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding when combined with aspirin, but the exact nature of their interaction is still unclear.

Unfortunately, testing and treating Helicobacter pylori infection is still expensive and time consuming. Therefore, the researchers suggest that small doses of aspirin should not be prescribed to all patients, since in patients infected with this bacterium, it can cause a complication of peptic ulcer disease.