Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2003 Jul 19;327(7407):128.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.327.7407.128.

Effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on risk of Alzheimer's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Mahyar Etminan  1 , Sudeep Gill, Ali Samii
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on risk of Alzheimer's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Mahyar Etminan et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objectives: To quantify the risk of Alzheimer's disease in users of all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and users of aspirin and to determine any influence of duration of use.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies published between 1966 and October 2002 that examined the role of NSAID use in preventing Alzheimer's disease. Studies identified through Medline, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and the Cochrane Library.

Results: Nine studies looked at all NSAIDs in adults aged > 55 years. Six were cohort studies (total of 13 211 participants), and three were case-control studies (1443 participants). The pooled relative risk of Alzheimer's disease among users of NSAIDs was 0.72 (95% confidence interval 0.56 to 0.94). The risk was 0.95 (0.70 to 1.29) among short term users (< 1 month) and 0.83 (0.65 to 1.06) and 0.27 (0.13 to 0.58) among intermediate term (mostly < 24 months) and long term (mostly > 24 months) users, respectively. The pooled relative risk in the eight studies of aspirin users was 0.87 (0.70 to 1.07).

Conclusions: NSAIDs offer some protection against the development of Alzheimer's disease. The appropriate dosage and duration of drug use and the ratios of risk to benefit are still unclear.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) from studies of NSAID use and effect on Alzheimer's disease
Fig 2
Fig 2
Funnel plot of studies of NSAID use and Alzheimer's disease (0 on the x axis (natural logarithm of relative risk) represents null effect). Visual inspection of funnel plot does not indicate publication bias
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. In't Veld BA, Ruitenberg A, Hofman A, Launer LJ, Van Duijin CM, Stijnen T, et al. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and the risk of Alzheimer's disease. N Engl J Med 2001;345: 1515-21. - PubMed
    1. Zandi PP, Anthony JC, Hayden KM, Mehta K, Mayer L, Brietner JC, et al. Reduced incidence of AD with NSAID but not H2 receptor antagonists: the Cache County study. Neurology 2002;59: 880-6. - PubMed
    1. Breitner JC, Zandi PP. Do nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease? N Engl J Med 2001;345: 1567-8. - PubMed
    1. Fourrier A, Letenneur L, Begaud B, Dartigues JF. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and cognitive function in the elderly: inconclusive results from a population-based cohort study. J Clin Epidemiol 1996;49: 1201. - PubMed
    1. McGeer PL, Schulzer M, McGeer EG. Arthritis and anti-inflammatory agents as possible protective factors for Alzheimer's disease: a review of 17 epidemiologic studies. Neurology 1996;47: 425-32. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances