--- title: Daily Aspirin Use May Cause Anemia in Seniors description: For decades, seniors have been taking aspirin to ward off heart disease. Now that guidance is changing. canonical: https://time.com/6289015/aspirin-anemia/ author: Haley Weiss article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-06-21T20:33:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:09.191Z article:section: Health og:title: Daily Aspirin Use May Cause Anemia in Seniors og:description: New research challenges the pill's use for heart health. og:url: https://time.com/6289015/aspirin-anemia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt00fb80e57fc94afb/698a3e0f929fadef6ebf9ed2/GettyImages-157397043-e1687377447586.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1601 og:image:height: 901 og:image:alt: senior woman with distorted arthritis hand taking aspirin pills og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Daily Aspirin Use May Cause Anemia in Seniors twitter:description: New research challenges the pill's use for heart health. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt00fb80e57fc94afb/698a3e0f929fadef6ebf9ed2/GettyImages-157397043-e1687377447586.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 04:11 video:published: 2023-04-25 section: entertainment topics: Harry Belafonte, death and tribute, artist activism, Civil Rights Movement, music and social justice, protest songs, Martin Luther King Jr., Nina Simone, legacy, TIME100 Summit genre: interview, tribute tones: reflective, respectful, somber, admiring emotions: grief (medium), admiration (high), gratitude (high) sentiment: positive audience: music fans, civil rights history enthusiasts, artists and activists, general news viewers people: John Legend, Harry Belafonte, Martin Luther King Jr., Nina Simone organizations: TIME100 Summit content_suitability: death [00:00-00:25]; violence [01:44-02:21] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Using Aspirin Every Day May Cause Anemia in Seniors > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=f7108b95-2eec-4ef4-ab2c-72bc004d49a1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: John Legend Reflects on Trailblazing Performer and Civil Rights Activist Harry Belafonte [Watch (HLS stream): John Legend Reflects on Trailblazing Performer and Civil Rights Activist Harry Belafonte](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Qyj5RYPd.m3u8) (4:11)  _Published 2023-04-25. Artist John Legend Legend candidly reflected on the role Belafonte has played in his life, both personally and professionally at the TIME100 Summit._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary John Legend responds to the news that Harry Belafonte has died, speaking about their personal friendship and Belafonte's example as both artist and activist. He describes how Belafonte embedded protest messages in his songs and used his wealth to fund the Civil Rights Movement. The interviewer then asks about the role of music in the fight for social justice today. Legend argues that art can reflect the times, tell stories and bring people together in a way other media cannot. ## Key points - The interviewer announces that news has just arrived that Harry Belafonte has died, and asks John Legend for his reaction. (00:06) - Legend says Belafonte became a friend over roughly the last 10 years, and that he learned about Belafonte's work by spending private time with him. (00:31) - Legend describes Belafonte as the epitome of an artist and activist who used his platform subversively, sneaking revolutionary messages into songs people thought were about good times in the islands. (01:00) - Legend says Belafonte, one of the most successful artists of his time, used his resources to fund the Civil Rights Movement, showing up with bags of cash for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (01:22) - Legend says many people put their lives on the line for voting and equal rights, and that Belafonte saw many of his friends get killed. (02:05) - Legend cites Nina Simone's view that artists have a duty to reflect the times in which they live. (03:05) - Legend says art can bring people together and transcend boundaries, and that it differs from journalism and other forms of nonfiction media. (03:30) - Legend says Belafonte used his art and his resources, put his life on the line, and served as an adviser and leader of protest; Legend says artists today can use their position similarly. (03:52) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:25] News of Belafonte's death. The interviewer shares the news of Belafonte's death and asks Legend for his reaction. - [00:25 to 01:22] Legend's friendship and Belafonte's subversive art. Legend recounts his personal connection to Belafonte and how Belafonte hid protest messages in his music. - [01:22 to 02:31] Funding the Civil Rights Movement. Legend describes Belafonte's financial support for the movement and the risks activists faced. - [02:31 to 02:48] A long, revolutionary life. Legend expresses gratitude that Belafonte lived such a long and powerful life. - [02:48 to 03:30] Music and social justice today. The interviewer asks about music's role in social justice, and Legend discusses artists' power to reflect the times. - [03:30 to 04:11] Art's transcendent power and artists' role. Legend explains how art transcends boundaries and how artists can follow Belafonte's example. ## Key quotes - [00:31] John Legend: "Personally he became a friend of mine in the last 10 years or so we spend some private time together." - [01:22] John Legend: "He used those resources to fund the Civil Rights Movement." - [02:21] John Legend: "He gave so much live through so much helped us grow as a nation and as a world" - [03:05] John Legend: "Nina Simone said, we have a duty to reflect the times in, which we live, and I believe great artists are able to do that." - [03:30] John Legend: "It has the power to bring people together transcend boundaries" ## Questions this video answers - How did John Legend react to the news of Harry Belafonte's death? [00:10] - How did Harry Belafonte use his music to carry messages of protest? [01:02] - How did Belafonte support the Civil Rights Movement financially? [01:22] - What risks did people face while working for voting and equal rights? [02:05] - What is the role of music in the fight for social justice today? [02:48] - How does art differ from journalism in telling stories about social issues? [03:30] ## Content suitability - death [00:00-00:25]: Announcement of Harry Belafonte's death at age 96. - violence [01:44-02:21]: Mentions activists and others being killed during the Civil Rights Movement.  by [Haley Weiss](https://time.com/author/haley-weiss/)  ## Haley Weiss Jun 21, 2023 8:33 PM UTC  senior woman with arthritis taking aspirin pills senior woman with arthritis taking aspirin pills Getty Images  by [Haley Weiss](https://time.com/author/haley-weiss/)  ## Haley Weiss Jun 21, 2023 8:33 PM UTC A new study suggests regular aspirin use in older adults may pose a serious risk of anemia, adding to existing research that challenges the long-established recommendation to use aspirin as a preventative therapy for dangerous cardiac events. The results come just a year after a national independent task force [updated formal recommendations](https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/sites/default/files/file/supporting%5Fdocuments/aspirin-cvd-prevention-final-rec-bulletin%5F0.pdf) in April 2022 cautioning those over the age of 60 against beginning a daily aspirin regimen. For decades, aspirin has been used like a vitamin by a sizable portion of America’s aging population. [Research](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1894700/#:~:text=A%20Dundee%20physician%2C%20Thomas%20Maclagan,in%20The%20Lancet%20in%201876.&text=In%201897%2C%20Felix%20Hoffman%2C%20a,which%20was%20named%20aspirin%20%28Fig.) as far back as the 1950s showed a daily low dose of the anti-inflammatory medication could help prevent diseases like heart attacks and stroke. Eventually, the benefits of the routine became common knowledge, and older adults added the over-the-counter medication to their pillboxes without any sort of formal physician recommendation. In 2021, 45% of Americans over the age of 75 reported taking daily low doses of aspirin. Its health benefits and low cost have made aspirin the most widely used medication in the world. **_Read more:_**[_Should You Take Aspirin Every Day? Here’s What the Science Says_](https://time.com/5428664/aspirin-health-benefits/) However, those benefits were mostly observed in studies of relatively young cohorts. In recent years, research has focused on the older populations most likely to use aspirin regularly, and has found that a daily aspirin regimen [has been linked](https://time.com/4817066/aspirin-stomach-bleeding-nsaids/) to more major bleeding events, like aneurysms, often at a rate that exceeds the risk of heart disease that aspirin use is intended to prevent. --- ### More from TIME --- The new research, published June 20 in the [_Annals of Internal Medicine_](https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-0675), is the first to show a risk of more minor blood-related conditions in daily aspirin users. As part of the the National Institutes of Health-funded Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly ([ASPREE](https://aspree.org/usa/)) study, a team of researchers in the U.S. and Australia recruited more than 18,000 people over the age of 65, and gave them all either 100 mg of aspirin or a placebo pill daily for nearly five years. When accounting for other major diseases, bleeding events, and health factors represented in the group, the team found those taking aspirin were 20% more likely to be anemic than those who didn’t. Anemia, a disorder in which the body runs low on the red blood cells required to transport oxygen throughout the body, can have several consequences in the elderly. Common anemia symptoms like fatigue, low blood pressure, and high heart rate can be extra risky for the elderly. In the case of aspirin use, related anemia would likely be caused by slower blood loss due to aspirin’s anti-clotting effects, either via minor injury or light internal bleeding. This can also lead to serious iron deficiencies. Researchers found the participants taking aspirin also had lower levels of hemoglobin and ferritin, two important proteins that help blood cells carry oxygen. Because of this, they recommend that older adults who take aspirin—particularly those with existing chronic conditions that put them at increased risk for anemia—receive regular blood testing to ensure that their hemoglobin levels remain within a safe range. ## Transcript [00:00] So I unfortunate that start with some sad news as you know, [00:04] but as I'm not sure everybody else knows. [00:06] I we just got the sad news that Harry Belafonte has died. [00:10] And so I want it, I want to give you a moment to tell [00:15] us what your reaction to that news was and how other artists [00:18] can carry on his legacy God that we had Harry Belafonte [00:24] for 96 years. [00:25] He [00:29] Inspired me so much. [00:31] Personally he became a friend of mine in the last 10 years [00:34] or so we spend some private time together. [00:37] I learned At His Feet basically about all the great work, [00:42] he's done over the years and if you think about what it means [00:46] to be an artist and an activist, [00:48] he was literally the epitome of what that was and [00:54] I don't know if people know how much he did. [00:56] So [01:00] Gifted as an artist as a performer, [01:02] but used his platform and almost a subversive way because [01:08] he would sneak messages in their revolutionary messages. [01:12] When people just thought he was singing about, [01:14] Good Times in the islands, he was always like infusing messages [01:19] of protest and Revolution and everything you did. [01:22] And not only that, but he used his resources, [01:28] he's one of the most successful artists of his time. [01:30] He used those resources to fund the Civil Rights Movement. [01:36] He would show up with bags of cash for dr. [01:40] Martin Luther King jr. [01:41] And other people who were marching with him. [01:44] When people's lives are being taken for support, [01:48] that movement, entertainers, lies were being taken activist [01:53] lives were being taken, Jewish. [01:57] Northerners would come down to the South and help with the movement [02:04] and they would get killed. [02:05] There were so many people who put their lives on the line for [02:11] us to be able to vote for us to be able to have equal [02:15] rights in this country and Mr. [02:17] Bellefonte was one of those people. [02:18] He saw a lot of his friends get killed. [02:21] He gave so much live through so much helped us grow as a nation [02:28] and as a world and we just all should be so grateful that he [02:31] lived such a long powerful revolutionary life. [02:46] So that leads us into something. [02:48] I was planning to ask you about anyway, [02:50] which is what do you think, is the role of Music in the fight [02:54] for social justice today? [02:55] I mean, who do you think will be remembered in fifty or sixty [02:58] years? The way we remember Harry Belafonte today, [03:01] we have the power to create art. [03:05] That shines a light on what's happening in the world Nina Simone [03:10] said, we have a duty to reflect the times in, which [03:13] we live, and I believe great artists are able to do that. [03:20] We're able to tell the stories I write the songs. [03:25] Highlight the issues that will make the world pay attention. [03:30] And I think art can do it in a Transcendent way. [03:32] It's not the same as journalism is not the same as other forms [03:38] of of kind of nonfiction media. [03:40] It has the power to bring people together transcend boundaries [03:47] and I think if we use that power for good, [03:50] it can be really really important. [03:52] And like I said, Harry Belafonte did it in his art but he also [03:58] did it with his resources, put his life on the line. [04:03] Was a great adviser great leader of protest. 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