This is the fifth in a series of posts to keep you up to date with the research projects we are involved with at Charlton Medical. Data from your visit may be used for this purpose. There are ethical and legal requirements for both researchers and GPs to protect patient privacy and safety, and you will have been asked to consent to your medical information being used for research during your first consultation as a new patient. It is important for you to remember that you can always request that your data is not used for research purposes and that this will not impact the medical care that you will receive.
The ASPREE project is a long-term multi-centre, bi-national study of aspirin and health in older adults run by clinicians from Monash University. The project aims to discover ways to maintain health, quality of life and independence as we age.
Since its inception 14 years ago, the ASPREE project has major contributions to the understanding of the role of low-dose asprin in older adults and advanced our understanding of factors that influence healthy survival. More than 200 research publications are available from the project and can be accessed online here (aspree.org/aus/publications/). One of the study’s most important findings was the discovery that low-dose aspirin has little benefit for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in older adults and this has been incorporated into major cardiovascular prevention guidelines, directly benefiting patient care. Findings from the ASPREE project advance the care and wellbeing of ageing adults around the world.
The ASPREE Clinical Trial has now been completed, but an ongoing, follow-up observational health study known as the ASPREE-XT (ASPREE – eXTension) study, is still ongoing and is investigating long-lasting effects of low-dose aspirin on diseases including cancer. It is also investigating factors that contribute to the maintenance of physical and cognitive health in older adults. Results of this part of the study are expected in 2024-25.
If you have been an ASPREE-XT participant, you can expect some changes to the way the study is conducted as it nears its completion and most of the ongoing work will involve medical record review. You should have been notified of these changes from the study investigators directly.
We will notify you directly if the ASPREE organisers contact us to access your records and seek your specific approval. You can read further details about the study’s privacy policies here.
Charlton Medical is proud to have partnered with Monash University in the ASPREE Project and to see the amount of valuable data it has produced. You can read more about the research Charlton Medical is involved with in the resource tab of the website. Please feel free to speak to our team if you would like more information about how we keep your personal and health information private.