A new longitudinal study conducted in Naples, Italy, and published in Cardiovascular Diabetology has found that daily treatment with low-dose aspirin may significantly reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in individuals with prediabetes. The study reported about a 50% reduction in diabetes onset among aspirin users, although the benefits came with an increased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.

The study followed individuals with prediabetes under the care of primary physicians, comparing those who took 100 mg of aspirin daily with a matched control group who did not receive aspirin. Researchers monitored the development of new T2DM diagnoses, defined by both clinical diagnosis and antidiabetic medication use lasting more than 30 days.

Over the follow-up period, 488 participants developed T2DM, accounting for 15.6% of the total cohort. Only 174 cases occurred in the aspirin group, compared to 314 in the non-aspirin group. The incidence rates were 22.3 and 40.2 cases per 1,000 person-years, respectively. Aspirin use was associated with a 47% reduction in T2DM risk (hazard ratio: 0.53) after confounder adjustments.

However, the benefits were offset by a significantly higher rate of GI bleeding among aspirin users—4.9% compared to 3.1% in non-users (p < 0.05). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis further confirmed a lower cumulative incidence of T2DM in the aspirin group (log-rank p < 0.0001).