TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of aspirin on the long-term management of depression in older people
T2 - a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial
AU - Berk, Michael
AU - Agustini, Bruno
AU - Woods, Robyn L.
AU - Nelson, Mark R.
AU - Shah, Raj C.
AU - Reid, Christopher M.
AU - Storey, Elsdon
AU - Fitzgerald, Sharyn M.
AU - Lockery, Jessica E.
AU - Wolfe, Rory
AU - Mohebbi, Mohammadreza
AU - Dodd, Seetal
AU - Murray, Anne M.
AU - Stocks, Nigel
AU - Fitzgerald, Paul B.
AU - Mazza, Catherine
AU - McNeil, John J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Late-life depression is common and often inadequately managed using existing therapies. Depression is also associated with increased markers of inflammation, suggesting a potential role for anti-inflammatory agents. ASPREE-D is a sub-study of ASPREE, a large multi-centre, population-based, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of aspirin vs placebo in older Australian and American adults (median follow-up: 4.7 years) of whom 1879 were depressed at baseline. Participants were given 100 mg daily dose of aspirin or placebo. Depressive symptoms were assessed annually using the validated, self-rated short version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. There was a significant increase in depressive scores (0.6; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.9; χ2 (1) = 10.37; p = 0.001) and a decreased score in the mental health component of a quality of life scale (–0.7; 95% CI –1.4 to –0.1; χ2 (1) = 4.74; p = 0.029) in the aspirin group compared to the placebo group. These effects were greater in the first year of follow-up and persisted throughout the study, albeit with small to very small effect sizes. This study failed to demonstrate any benefit of aspirin in the long-term course of depression in this community-dwelling sample of older adults over a 5-year period, and identified an adverse effect of aspirin in the course of depression in those with pre-existing depressive symptoms.
AB - Late-life depression is common and often inadequately managed using existing therapies. Depression is also associated with increased markers of inflammation, suggesting a potential role for anti-inflammatory agents. ASPREE-D is a sub-study of ASPREE, a large multi-centre, population-based, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of aspirin vs placebo in older Australian and American adults (median follow-up: 4.7 years) of whom 1879 were depressed at baseline. Participants were given 100 mg daily dose of aspirin or placebo. Depressive symptoms were assessed annually using the validated, self-rated short version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. There was a significant increase in depressive scores (0.6; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.9; χ2 (1) = 10.37; p = 0.001) and a decreased score in the mental health component of a quality of life scale (–0.7; 95% CI –1.4 to –0.1; χ2 (1) = 4.74; p = 0.029) in the aspirin group compared to the placebo group. These effects were greater in the first year of follow-up and persisted throughout the study, albeit with small to very small effect sizes. This study failed to demonstrate any benefit of aspirin in the long-term course of depression in this community-dwelling sample of older adults over a 5-year period, and identified an adverse effect of aspirin in the course of depression in those with pre-existing depressive symptoms.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85099962880
U2 - 10.1038/s41380-021-01020-5
DO - 10.1038/s41380-021-01020-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 33504953
AN - SCOPUS:85099962880
SN - 1359-4184
VL - 26
SP - 5161
EP - 5170
JO - Molecular Psychiatry
JF - Molecular Psychiatry
IS - 9
ER -
