According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, over 20 million Americans suffer asthma, and just in the Untied States, about 5,000 people die each year of asthma attacks. The incidence of asthma has been increasing for many years, even in regions that have achieved lower levels of pollution and better air quality.
Two studies supporting the idea that aspirin somehow protects against asthma has appeared in the medical literature. In 2006, an analysis of the Physician's Health Study found that men who took at least a baby aspirin every day had a 22 per cent lower risk of developing asthma in midlife, and the beneficial effect held even among smokers, men who were overweight, and the elderly.
In 2008, the Women's Health Study found that women who take at least a baby aspirin (100 mg) every day have a 10 per cent lower risk of developing asthma, and aspirin is beneficial without regard to smoking, obesity, vitamin consumption, or use of estrogen replacement.
Still, I wouldn't start taking an aspirin a day to keep asthma away. There are three main reasons.
First, neither the Physician's Health Study nor the Women's Health Study found that aspirin treated asthma. The anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin be strong enough to prevent the small changes in the plasticity of lung tissue that lead to bigger changes later, but aspirin probably isn't sufficiently anti-inflammatory to relieve an attack.
Secondly, and more importantly, about 3 to 5 per cent of people who have asthma are sensitive to aspirin. It's possible to have neither asthma nor aspirin sensitivity earlier in life and to develop both in adulthood.
Thirdly, and most importantly, some stages of the flu can be mistaken for asthma. Children with flu must never be given aspirin in order to prevent the potentially deadly Reye syndrome. From the standpoint of aspirin-sensitivity, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the safer alternative.
