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For Immediate Release
August 27, 2003
Washington, DC - (August 27, 2003)
- Last week, the British Medical Journal published research
indicating that pregnant women who took NSAIDs early
in their pregnancy, or for longer than a week, had an
increased risk of miscarriage.
The Aspirin Foundation cautions that
reports of these findings may be misleading. The Foundation
notes in particular that only 22 of the 1,055 women
enrolled in the study had taken aspirin. The researchers
called the results pertaining to aspirin "unstable"
because of the small number of users in the study.
Further, the researchers noted that
because the examination of the association of NSAID
use with miscarriage was not the primary aim of the
cohort study, "the study has potential limitations."
The researchers identified one such limitation as the
potential misclassification of some users into the non-user
groups because they could have taken NSAIDs after the
study and while still pregnant, which would have affected
the results.
The researchers emphasized that further
studies are needed that are designed specifically to
examine the association between NSAID use and miscarriage.
For these reasons, the Foundation agrees
with the researchers that the study published in the
British Medical Journal is inadequate for any conclusions
to be drawn linking NSAIDs with miscarriage. Specifically,
the study is too weak for any conclusions to be drawn
that the use of aspirin increases the risk of miscarriage.
The Aspirin Foundation urges
women who are pregnant to consult with their physicians
before taking any type of medication - including those
taken over-the-counter - and to follow the guidelines
on aspirin labels and the advice of their doctors.
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Contact:
Caroline Perrin
807 National Press Building, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 800-432-3247 Fax: 202/737-8406
info@aspirin.org
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