Aspirin taking in a south Wales county

In order to determine the taking of regular aspirin within a representative community sample of adults residing in the south Wales county of Caerphilly, we conducted a survey of a sample 9,551 adults resident in the county aged ≥18 years. Questionnaires were returned by 4,558 individuals aged between 25 and 82 years. Nearly 12% of the respondents reported a previous vascular event. Of these, 68% of the men and 55% of the women stated that they took aspirin regularly. Among those with no previous vascular event, 22% of the men and 13% of the women stated that they took aspirin regularly. For those over 50 years of age, the respective figures were 28% of men and 19% of women. Of those taking aspirin, 47% stated that they took 300 mg tablets. There was a small inverse relationship found between aspirin taking and social class, namely 67% and 56% in the manual and non-manual classes respectively. The prevalence of prophylactic aspirin taking by persons who have had a vascular event should be increased, particularly in women. Knowledge of the benefits and the risks of aspirin prophylaxis could be promoted through the community and there should be ongoing monitoring of aspirin taking.