Data
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants included age, gender, educational status, smoking history, place of residence (rural or urban), body mass index, and alcohol use.
Medical history, cardiovascular risk factors, and all comorbidities, physical examination details, and all concomitant medications were questioned. The duration for aspirin therapy, the reason of use (primary or secondary prevention), and the specialty of the physician who prescribed aspirin were analyzed.
The indication of aspirin use was assessed according to the 2016 ESC (6) and 2016 United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPTF) guidelines (8). The risk of experiencing an atherosclerotic event was calculated using an online atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk calculator prepared according to the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines (14) for each individual in the primary prevention group.
The bleeding risk was determined by HASBLED and other clinical parameters. The HASBLED score adds one point for hypertension, abnormal renal/liver function (one point each), stroke, bleeding history or predisposition, labile international normalized ratio, age 65 and older, and drugs/alcohol concomitantly (one point each) (15). Risk factors for gastrointestinal bleeding with aspirin use, such as higher dose and longer duration of use, history of gastrointestinal bleeding, bleeding disorders, ulcers or upper gastrointestinal pain, thrombocytopenia, renal failure, severe liver disease, concurrent anticoagulation or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and uncontrolled hypertension were analyzed.
Risk factors for colorectal cancer, such as a history of colonic adenomatous polyps, family or personal history of colorectal cancer or familial adenomatous polyposis, alcohol intake, obesity, and smoking were also noted.