title: Aspirin therapy is still underutilized among patients with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: The daily use of aspirin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) reduces significantly cardiovascular events (CVE). In the absence of contraindications, American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends the use of aspirin to all DM2 patients older than 40 years of age. To evaluate aspirin use among 636 out patients with DM2 who participate in a regional multicenter study in Southern Brazil, a standard questionnaire was used. Patients also underwent a physical examination and laboratorial tests. All patients were older than 40 years (mean 58 +/- 11 years old; 42% male) and by ADA guidelines most of them should be using aspirin. However, only 177 (27.5%) were on this medication. The use of aspirin was higher when any CVE were present. However, the percentage of users was still below the expected, not even reaching 50%. In conclusion, even though the use of aspirin is greater in patients with CVE, and its benefits are well documented, it is still underutilized. Strategies to enhance the use of aspirin should be developed to reduce the morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases in patients with DM2.
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology Division, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre.
authors.forename: Cristiane B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Leitão
authors.forename: Ana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Krahe
authors.forename: Gustavo B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Nabinger
authors.forename: Paula X
authors.initials: PX
authors.lastname: Picon
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pecis
authors.forename: Lérida M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Zaslavsky
authors.forename: Jorge L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Luis H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Canani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001938:Brazil; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000075202:Contraindications; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012955:Societies, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D001241:Aspirin