Study links ultra-processed food intake to prediabetes in young adults

 

More than half of calories consumed in the United States come from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), items like fast food and packaged snacks that are often high in sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats. In adults, research has clearly linked these foods to type 2 diabetes and other conditions, but few studies have explored their effects among youth.

Now, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC have completed one of the first studies to examine the link between UPF consumption and how the body processes glucose, which is known to predict diabetes risk. By tracking changes over time, they gained insights into how dietary choices may influence key biological processes.

The researchers studied a group of 85 young adults over a four-year period. They found that an increase in UPF intake was associated with a higher risk for prediabetes, or early-stage high blood sugar that can lead to diabetes. Eating more UPFs was also linked to insulin resistance, where the body becomes less effective at using insulin to control blood sugar. The study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, was just published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism.

"Our findings show that even modest increases in ultra-processed food intake can disrupt glucose regulation in young adults at risk for obesity. These results point to diet as a modifiable driver of early metabolic disease, and an urgent target for prevention strategies among young people,” said Vaia Lida Chatzi, MD, PhD, a professor of population and public health sciences and pediatrics and director of the Southern California Superfund Research and Training Program for PFAS Assessment, Remediation and Prevention (ShARP) Center at the Keck School of Medicine, who is the study’s senior author.

Early adulthood is a formative stage where people have reached physical maturity and are building habits that can persist for years. Trading packaged or restaurant meals for whole and raw foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can reduce the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

"Young adulthood is a critical window for shaping long-term health,” Chatzi said. “By focusing on young adults, we have an opportunity to intervene early, before prediabetes and other risk factors become lifelong conditions.”

Signs of prediabetes

The research included 85 young adults from the Metabolic and Asthma Incidence Research (Meta-AIR) study, part of the broader Southern California Children's Health Study. Participants, aged 17-22, provided data at a baseline visit between 2014 and 2018 and a follow-up visit approximately four years later.

At each visit, participants reported everything they had eaten on one recent weekday and one recent weekend day. Researchers classified foods into two categories: UPFs (such as candy, soda, cereal, packaged spreads, flavored yogurts, and many restaurant foods) and foods that were not ultra-processed. They then calculated what percentage of each participant’s daily caloric intake came from UPFs.

The researchers also collected blood samples from participants before and after they consumed a sugary drink to test how effectively their body responded to blood sugar with insulin. They then conducted a statistical analysis to compare dietary changes with signs of prediabetes, adjusting for differences in age, sex, ethnicity and physical activity levels.

From baseline to follow-up, a 10% increase in UPF consumption was associated with a 64% higher risk for prediabetes and a 56% higher risk for problems with glucose regulation. Participants who reported eating more UPFs at their initial visit were also more likely to have elevated insulin levels at follow-up—an early sign of insulin resistance, where the body must produce more insulin to keep blood sugar in a healthy range.

Limiting ultra-processed foods

The study shows that the risks of UPFs extend to young adults, a group often overlooked in previous research.

“These findings indicate that ultra-processed food consumption increases the risk for pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes among young adults—and that limiting consumption of those foods can help prevent disease,” said the study’s first author, Yiping Li, a doctoral student in quantitative biomedical sciences at Dartmouth College who previously worked as a researcher at the Keck School of Medicine.

Future studies with larger groups and more detailed diet tracking can help clarify which foods pose the greatest risk for young adults, the researchers said. They also plan to continue investigating the biological mechanisms behind these links, including how specific nutrients in UPFs may influence insulin and blood sugar regulation.

New study links teen migraines to hypertension

 

Why early blood pressure screening matters

A nationwide study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found that adolescents who experience migraines are three times more likely to have high blood pressure. The research, which analyzed data from over two million Israeli teens, revealed that the link was strongest among those with severe or frequent migraines. The findings suggest that early blood pressure screening for teens with migraines could help detect cardiovascular risks before they develop into chronic disease.

A massive Israeli study tracking over 2 million adolescents has uncovered a striking connection between migraine headaches and high blood pressure—conditions rarely studied together in young people. The research, conducted by scientists at Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, reveals that teens diagnosed with migraines were three times more likely to have hypertension than their peers, suggesting that what may seem like “just headaches” could signal deeper vascular issues.

The study analyzed medical records from Israel’s national pre-military health screenings between 1990 and 2019, covering adolescents aged 16 to 20. Among more than 61,000 teens diagnosed with migraines, nearly 1 in 150 also had hypertension, compared to 1 in 500 among those without migraines. The link held strong even after accounting for factors like age, gender, body mass index, and socioeconomic background.

What stood out most was the severity connection: adolescents with severe migraines were over four times more likely to have high blood pressure than those with mild or no headaches. Similarly, cases of severe hypertension were more common among those with frequent or disabling migraines.

“Migraine is often dismissed as a temporary neurological complaint,” explains Prof. Ronit Calderon-Margalit from the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Medicine, one of the study’s senior authors. “But our findings suggest it may also serve as a marker for early vascular dysfunction—meaning these young people could be at higher cardiovascular risk long before adulthood.”

The study, published in Hypertension, is the largest of its kind to examine this relationship in adolescents using verified medical diagnoses rather than self-reported symptoms. Previous research mostly focused on adults, leaving a gap in understanding how these conditions interact during youth—when prevention can make the biggest difference.

While the findings don’t prove that migraines cause high blood pressure, the researchers emphasize the importance of screening adolescents with migraines for early signs of hypertension. Identifying elevated blood pressure early could help prevent long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage later in life.

The results also raise intriguing biological questions: both migraines and hypertension involve the body’s vascular system, and recent genetic studies have pointed to shared pathways influencing blood vessel function and inflammation.

For parents and teens, the takeaway is clear—don’t ignore frequent or severe headaches. They may be more than a passing pain.

Time-restricted eating without calorie reduction does not improve metabolic health

 Contrary to common assumptions, a new study from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, shows that intermittent fasting (time-restricted eating) with an unchanged calorie intake does not lead to measurable improvements in metabolic or cardiovascular parameters while shifting the body's internal clocks. This finding was demonstrated by Prof. Olga Ramich and her team in the ChronoFast study. The results were published in the journal 'Science Translational Medicine'.

 

Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a form of intermittent fasting characterized by a daily eating period of no longer than ten hours and a fasting period of at least 14 hours. TRE is increasingly popular as a simple dietary strategy for weight control and metabolic health improvement. In rodents, TRE protects against diet-induced obesity and related metabolic dysfunctions. Similarly, TRE studies in humans have suggested numerous positive cardiometabolic effects, such as improved insulin sensitivity, glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels, as well as moderate reductions in body weight and body fat. Consequently, TRE is considered a promising approach to combat insulin resistance and diabetes.

Inconsistent Initial Situation

Results of previous TRE trials have been partly contradictory and have not yet clarified whether the metabolic improvements are due to the restriction of daily eating duration, due to spontaneous calorie restriction, or due to the combination of both factors. In fact, most previous studies have not carefully monitored energy intake or other potential confounding factors.

Therefore, Prof. Olga Ramich, Head of the Department of Molecular Metabolism and Precision Nutrition at the DIfE as well as Professor at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and her team investigated whether an eight-hour eating period could improve insulin sensitivity and other cardiometabolic parameters in a tightly controlled isocaloric environment in the ChronoFast trial.

The scientists conducted a randomized crossover design involving a total of 31 women with overweight or obesity. Over two weeks each, the participants consumed their usual meals either early, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.(eTRE), or late, between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. (lTRE). The calorie and nutrient composition remained nearly identical (isocaloric). 

During four visits, blood samples were collected, and an oral glucose tolerance test was performed to examine the influence of TRE on glucose and fat metabolism, as well as other metabolic markers. Within the dietary phases, continuous glucose monitoring was used to observe 24-hour glucose levels while simultaneously documenting food intake. Physical activity was controlled using a motion sensor. DIfE researchers, in cooperation with Prof. Achim Kramer from the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, also studied the body's internal clock in isolated blood cells.

Determination of Circadian Rhythms 

The human body follows individual, via an molecular mechanism generated rhythms, which roughly (Latin: circa) correspond to the length of a day (Latin: dia), and is therefore also known as the circadian clocks. According to the day-night rhythm, it reliably controls nearly all physiological and biochemical processes in the body, including sleep and metabolism. Almost every cell in the body possesses an internal clock that can be influenced by light and other factors, such as exercise or nutrition. To objectively determine a person’s individual internal rhythms (circadian phase), Prof. Dr. Achim Kramer from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin developed the BodyTime assay. The test requires only a single blood sample. This method was used in the ChronoFast study and showed that eating times influence the body’s internal clocks in humans.

No Improvements in Insulin Sensitivity or Other Metabolic Values

Contrary to previous studies suggesting positive effects of TRE, the ChronoFast study shows no clinically relevant changes in insulin sensitivity, blood sugar levels, blood fats, or inflammatory markers, at least following this relatively short two-week intervention. “Our results suggest that the health benefits observed in earlier studies were likely due to unintended calorie reduction, rather than the shortened eating period itself,” explains Ramich.

Although the participants showed no marked metabolic improvements, the study of the internal clock in blood cells revealed that TRE influenced the circadian phase in blood cells and the sleep timing. The internal clock was, on average, shifted back by 40 minutes after the lTRE intervention compared to the eTRE intervention, and participants who followed the lTRE intervention went to bed and awaked later. “The timing of food intake acts as a cue for our biological rhythms – similar to light,” says first author Beeke Peters.

Negative Energy Balance and Chronotype May Be Crucial

The results underscore that calorie reduction plays a central role in the health benefits of intermittent fasting. “Those who want to lose weight or improve their metabolism should pay attention not only to the clock, but also to their energy balance,” summarizes Ramich.

Future studies should clarify whether a specific timing of TRE, in combination with a reduced calorie intake, provides additional benefits and how individual factors, such as chronotype or genetics, influence these effects.

Peanuts improve brain vascular function and memory

  A study from the Institute of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM) at Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, has found that the consumption of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts can significantly improve brain vascular function and memory. The findings were published online in the international, peer-reviewed journal Clinical Nutrition.

The NUTRIM study of 31 healthy older adults ranging in age from 60-75 observed that consuming 60 grams (approximately two servings) of peanuts daily for 16 weeks increased global cerebral blood flow (CBF) by 3.6% and verbal memory by 5.8%. In addition to the brain improvements, systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure decreased by 5 mmHg and 4 mmHg, respectively.

“CBF is an important physiological marker of brain vascular function and refers to the amount of blood that flows through the brain, delivering oxygen and nutrients that are essential for maintaining brain health,” says Dr. Peter Joris, the study’s author and an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM, Maastricht University Medical Center. “We found that longer-term consumption of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts improved global CBF, which suggests an overall enhancement in brain vascular function.”

The peanut intervention also resulted in increased blood flow in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, both of which are important for memory and other cognitive functions.

The NUTRIM study is unique because it combined a well-controlled, longer-term dietary intervention with advanced brain imaging techniques, specifically arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to investigate the effects of daily peanut consumption on brain health. Cognitive performance was evaluated using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).

“For the first time, we demonstrated that peanut intake improved brain vascular function in healthy older adults. These favorable effects may help explain the observed improvements in memory, providing novel mechanistic insight into how regular peanut consumption can beneficially affect cognitive function,” says Joris.

As people age, vascular brain function can become impaired, contributing to an elevated risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Dementia, unfortunately, is a worldwide health problem that’s increasing in prevalence. Alzheimer’s Disease International predicts that 78 million will be living with dementia by 2030 and by 2050 the number will reach 139 million.

“Peanuts are especially rich in plant-based protein and contain high concentrations of L-arginine, an amino acid important for vascular health. They are also a valuable source of unsaturated fats and polyphenols, both known to support vascular function,” says Joris. “For this study, skin-roasted peanuts were chosen because the peanut skin contains additional dietary fiber and natural plant compounds, specifically antioxidants. Together, these nutrients may help explain the beneficial health effects of skin-roasted peanuts observed in this study.”

NUTRIM Study Details

The study was a randomized, controlled crossover trial - one of the strongest designs in clinical research. Participants in the intervention group were given premeasured packets of skin-roasted peanuts and directed to consume the peanuts in the morning or afternoon. They were allowed to eat the daily amount all at once, spread it out over the day or add the peanuts to their meals. The control group did not consume peanuts. After 16 weeks, the groups switched conditions to further assess the effects of peanut consumption versus no peanuts on brain health.

The principal investigator of the study was Associate Professor Dr. Peter J. Joris. Test days were conducted by Ph.D. candidate Lucia Kerkhof, Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, Maastricht University Medical Center.

The NUTRIM study was supported by funding from The Peanut Institute Foundation. The funder did not have a role in the study design, implementation, analysis or interpretation of the data or the writing of the manuscript.

Meditation retreat rapidly reprograms body and mind

A one-week mind-body retreat triggered systematic brain and molecular changes linked to resilience, pain relief and stress recovery

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have found that an intensive retreat combining multiple mind-body techniques, including meditation and healing practices, produced rapid and wide-ranging changes in brain function and blood biology. The researchers found that the retreat engaged natural physiological pathways promoting neuroplasticity, metabolism, immunity and pain relief. The findings, published in Communications Biology, provide insights into how consciousness and psychological practices can enhance physical health.

Meditation and other mind-body practices have been utilized by cultures worldwide for thousands of years to promote health and wellness; however, the underlying biology of these approaches remains poorly understood. The new study, part of a multi-million-dollar research initiative supported by the InnerScience Research Fund, is the first to comprehensively quantify the biological effects of multiple mind-body techniques administered together over a short period.

"We’ve known for years that practices like meditation can influence health, but what’s striking is that combining multiple mind-body practices into a single retreat produced changes across so many biological systems that we could measure directly in the brain and blood," said senior study author Hemal H. Patel, Ph.D., professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. “This isn’t about just stress relief or relaxation; this is about fundamentally changing how the brain engages with reality and quantifying these changes biologically.”

As part of the study, 20 healthy adults attended a 7-day residential program led by neuroscience educator and author Joe Dispenza, D.C., featuring daily lecture sessions, approximately 33 hours of guided meditation and group healing practices. These practices used an “open-label placebo” approach, meaning participants knowingly took part in healing activities presented as placebos — procedures or treatments with no active medical ingredient, but which can still produce real benefits through the power of expectation, social connection and shared practices.

Before and after the retreat, participants had their brains scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), an approach that measures brain activity in real time. The researchers also used blood testing to measure changes in metabolic activity, immune activation and other biological functions.  

The researchers observed several major changes after the retreat:

• Brain network changes: Meditation during the retreat reduced activity in parts of the brain associated with mental chatter, making brain function more efficient overall.
• Enhanced neuroplasticity: When applied to laboratory-grown neurons, blood plasma from post-retreat participants made brain cells grow longer branches and form new connections.
• Metabolic shifts: Cells treated with post-retreat plasma showed an increase in glycolytic (sugar-burning) metabolism, indicating a more flexible and adaptive metabolic state.
• Natural pain relief: Blood levels of endogenous opioids – the body’s natural painkillers – increased after the retreat, indicating that the body’s natural pain-relief systems were activated.
• Immune activation: Meditation increased inflammatory and anti-inflammatory immune signals simultaneously, suggesting a complex, adaptive immune response rather than a simple suppression or activation.
• Gene and molecular signaling changes: Small RNA and gene activity in blood shifted after the retreat, particularly in pathways related to brain function.

Participants also completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) to assess whether they had a “mystical” experience during meditation—characterized by profound feelings of unity, transcendence, and altered states of consciousness. Average MEQ scores increased significantly after the retreat, rising from 2.37 before the retreat to 3.02 afterwards. Higher scores on these surveys were also correlated with greater biological changes after the retreat, including greater integration of brain activity across different regions. In other words, the more connected the brain is, the greater the likelihood of a mystical experience.

The findings suggest that intensive meditation can trigger very similar brain activity to that which has been previously documented with psychedelic substances.

“We're seeing the same mystical experiences and neural connectivity patterns that typically require psilocybin, now achieved through meditation practice alone,” added Patel. “Seeing both central nervous system changes in brain scans and systemic changes in blood chemistry underscores that these mind-body practices are acting on a whole-body scale.”

The study results provide a biological framework for understanding how non-drug mind-body interventions can support health and well-being. By enhancing neuroplasticity and activating the immune system, these practices could help promote mental health, emotional regulation and stress resilience. Additionally, the activation of endogenous opioid pathways suggests that this combination of mind-body practices may also be useful for chronic pain management.

While the retreat’s effects were measured in healthy adults, the researchers emphasize that controlled trials in patient populations are still needed to determine specific clinical benefits and applications. They are particularly interested in whether mind-body retreats can benefit people with chronic pain, mood disorders or immune-related conditions.

Looking ahead, the research team plans to investigate how each individual component of the retreat — meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo healing — works alone and in combination. Additionally, future studies will investigate the duration of these biological changes and whether repeated interventions can enhance or sustain their effects.

“This study shows that our minds and bodies are deeply interconnected — what we believe, how we focus our attention, and the practices we participate in can leave measurable fingerprints on our biology,” said first author Alex Jinich-Diamant, a doctoral student in the Departments of Cognitive Science and Anesthesiology at UC San Diego. “It’s an exciting step toward understanding how conscious experience and physical health are intertwined, and how we might harness that connection to promote well-being in new ways.”

Link to full paper: https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09088-3  

Additional coauthors of the study include Sierra Simpson, Juan P. Zuniga-Hertz, Ramamurthy Chitteti, Jan M. Schilling, Jacqueline A. Bonds, Laura Case, Andrei V. Chernov, Natalia Esther Amkie Stahl, Michael Licamele, Narin Fazlalipour and, Swetha Devulapalli, at UC San Diego; Joe Dispenza and Michelle A. Poirier at Metamorphosis LLC; Jacqueline Maree and Tobias Moeller-Bertram at VitaMed Research; and Leonardo Christov-Moore and Nicco Reggente at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies.

This work was supported by the InnerScience Research Fund and a Veterans Administration Research Career Scientist Award (BX005229).

Disclosure: One co-author (Joe Dispenza) is employed by Encephalon, Inc., the company offering the retreat; all other authors declare no competing interests.

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Journal

Communications Biology

Researchers reveal rosemary extract in viral skincare trend is worth the hype

 

Penn students and dermatologists were determined to find how rosemary and rosemary extract can repair damaged skin without leaving scars.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

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Penn undergraduate student Jiayi Pang (left) and Penn PhD candidate Emmanuel Rapp Reyes (right) found that rosemary can help skin wounds heal without causing scars.

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Credit: Courtesy of Penn Medicine

The social media trend touting rosemary and rosemary extract as part of skincare routines is now backed by science. A compound found in rosemary leaves may significantly improve the healing of skin wounds and reduce scarring, according to new research published in JCI Insight from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Many skin injuries end in scars, and in some people, it can lead to long-term cosmetic and even functional issues,” said senior author Thomas Leung, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Dermatology at Penn. “Our findings suggest that rosemary extract, and specifically the antioxidant, carnosic acid, can shift the healing process from scarring to healthy skin regeneration. We don’t have proven ways to consistently do that in humans.”

The hypothesis behind the hype

Penn undergraduate student Jiayi Pang (left) and Penn PhD candidate Emmanuel Rapp Reyes (right) found that rosemary can help skin wounds heal without causing scars.

The inspiration for this study stemmed from an unusual place: TikTok and Instagram. After seeing beauty influencers and other social-media users touting the skin-healing benefits of homemade rosemary extract serums and products with rosemary, Penn undergraduate student Jiayi Pang and Penn PhD candidate Emmanuel Rapp Reyes turned to Leung for expertise. Then, they did what all good scientists do: they went to the lab and ran their own tests.

“We hypothesized there was likely something real behind the hype because rosemary contains  many antioxidants,” said Pang, co-lead author of the study. “But we knew in order to really uncover its potential, we needed to prove its healing properties and uncover how exactly it was facilitating healing.”

Conducting the research in mice, the researchers made cream with carnosic acid, a naturally occurring antioxidant mostly existing in rosemary, to accelerate wound closure and restore hair follicles, oil glands, and cartilage. They also found that a particular nerve sensor in the skin previously identified as essential to scarless healing, TRPA1, was critical for stimulating the healing in this instance, too. When tested in mice without the TRPA1 sensor, which previous research from Leung showed is responsible for scarless healing, carnosic cream lost its impact.

“We also identified other herbs, such as thyme and oregano, that may activate TRPA1. But rosemary stood out for its potency and safety,” said Rapp Reyes, co-lead author of the study. “Other natural ingredients, such as mustard oil, or the topical medication imiquimod are known to also stimulate the TRPA1 receptor, but unlike rosemary, those can cause irritation and inflammation,”

The researchers also found a localized effect from rosemary; scarless healing only occurred when carnosic acid cream was applied to the site of the injury but not when it was applied to skin far from the wound.

The team at Penn, however, notes that individuals should speak with their doctors before incorporating  rosemary skincare products in their daily regimens or mixing up their own rosemary-based concoctions. Nevertheless, given rosemary’s accessibility and low cost, the researchers hope their findings will inspire further investigation into its use in human wound care, especially for patients at risk of excessive scarring.

“If rosemary is part of your skincare regimen and you think it’s working, it likely is,” said Leung. “I’m proud that the young scientists that led this research sought answers to questions in their everyday lives.”

Low-dose aspirin linked to lower cardiovascular event risk for adults with Type 2 diabetes

 

Research Highlights:

• Adults with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and at moderate or high risk of cardiovascular disease who took low-dose aspirin were less likely to experience a serious cardiovascular event, including a heart attack, stroke or death, than peers who did not take aspirin.
• Any low-dose aspirin use was associated with significantly lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to no low-dose aspirin use, with greater benefit observed among those individuals who took it the most often.
• Low-dose aspirin use was associated with similarly lower risks of a cardiovascular event for people with T2D no matter their blood sugar levels, though this reduction was more substantial in individuals who had lower HBA1c levels, indicating their T2D was better controlled. 
• Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at American Heart Association’s scientific meetings are not peer-reviewed, and the findings are considered preliminary until published as full manuscripts in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025

DALLAS, Nov. 3, 2025 — People with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) who took low-dose aspirin were less likely to experience a major cardiovascular event, including heart attack, stroke or death, than people with T2D at similar CVD risk who did not take low-dose aspirin, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, Nov. 7-10, in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

“We know that in recent studies aspirin hasn’t proven beneficial for primary prevention in people who don’t have established cardiovascular disease. However, Type 2 diabetes is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” said corresponding study author Aleesha Kainat, M.D., a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “In our study, we wanted to better understand low-dose aspirin use in this very niche group of adults with Type 2 diabetes and with a moderate-to-high risk of cardiovascular disease – so, a population group who may or may not have been included in previous trials.”

For this study, researchers analyzed 10 years of electronic health record data on more than 11,500 adults. The individuals were previously diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and had a moderate or high risk for a cardiovascular event. Additionally, the researchers reviewed the potential effects of whether individuals had their blood glucose levels under control, along with whether they took medications as prescribed more frequently. 

“We were somewhat surprised by the magnitude of the findings,” Kainat said. “People with Type 2 diabetes and a higher risk of CVD who reported taking low-dose aspirin were much less likely to have had a heart attack, stroke or death over 10 years when compared to similar individuals who did not report taking low-dose aspirin. That benefit was greatest for those who took aspirin consistently, throughout most of the follow-up time.”

The analysis found:

• Adults with Type 2 diabetes who took low-dose aspirin were less likely to have a heart attack (42.4%) than the participants who did not take low-dose aspirin (61.2%).
• For those on a low-dose aspirin regimen, the risk of stroke was also lower (14.5% aspirin group vs. 24.8% no aspirin group), as was the risk of death from any cause within 10 years (33% aspirin group compared to 50.7% no aspirin group).
• Any low-dose aspirin use among the participants was linked to reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, with the greatest benefit seen among those who took low-dose aspirin most frequently. 
• In subgroup analyses, low-dose aspirin use was associated with similarly lower risk of a cardiovascular event no matter the participant’s HBA1c, or blood glucose, levels, though this reduction was more substantial in individuals who had lower HBA1c levels, indicating their T2D was better controlled

“It’s worth noting that our analysis excluded the records of people who had a high risk of bleeding, and we did not track bleeding events or other side effects in our study,” said Kainat. “That’s an important limitation because aspirin’s bleeding risk is crucial in real-life decision making and a person's independent bleeding risk has to be accounted for whenever we are prescribing a medication.”

“This study offers some interesting insights into helping reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events among people with Type 2 diabetes. This is very important because cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death among people with Type 2 diabetes, and furthermore, Type 2 diabetes is a leading risk factor contributing to a recent rise in heart disease and stroke,” said Amit Khera, M.D., M.Sc., FAHA, the volunteer chair of the American Heart Association’s Advocacy Coordinating Committee and recipient of the Association’s 2025 Chairman’s Award. “While the American Heart Association does not currently recommend low-dose aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease for adults with Type 2 diabetes who have no history of cardiovascular disease, this study raises some good questions for further research and validation. The clear message is to always work directly with your health care team to identify your specific risk factors and conditions and together decide whether the benefits of any treatment outweigh the potential risks.” Khera, who was not involved in this study, is a professor of medicine, clinical chief of cardiology and director of preventive cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas

The study had additional limitations. The analysis was observational, meaning the researchers examined past, real-world data from patient records rather than enrolling participants in a clinical trial. The findings cannot prove low-dose aspirin prevented or reduced major cardiovascular event. Also, the researchers measured low-dose aspirin use based on reports within individuals’ health records, which may not accurately reflect how often people actually took low-dose aspirin or if they took other unreported over-the-counter medications. Additionally, there may have been other unidentified differences across the groups of individuals who took low-dose aspirin versus those who did not, which could influence the findings.

“We’ll need to look at how we balance the cardiovascular benefits of low-dose aspirin with its known bleeding risks for individual high-risk individuals, such as those who have high inflammatory burden or subclinical coronary calcifications,” Kainat said. “It is also an open area of inquiry to see how low-dose aspirin’s benefit might interact with the myriad of emerging therapies for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, such as GLP-1 medications and other lipid lowering agents besides statins, so we look forward to conducting more research on this important topic.”

Study details, background and design:

• Low-dose aspirin use among the participants was based on how frequently it was noted on the medication list of their medical records over the follow-up period of about eight years. It was classified as: no use, seldom use (<30% of the time), sometimes used (between 30-70% of the time) and frequently used (>70% of the time).
• The study included health records for 11,681 adults with Type 2 diabetes who had a moderate or high risk score as determined by the 10-year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk score, a standardized cardiovascular disease calculator outlined in a 2018 special report from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. All records were from a primary prevention registry within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center multihospital system, which includes over 35 hospitals and 400 outpatient clinics in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.
• Participants had an average age of 61.6 years, 46.24% were female and 53.76% were male. People who were at a higher risk for bleeding were excluded.
• Participants were divided into four groups, depending on how often their medical records noted they took low-dose aspirin over the course of about eight years of follow-up: no low-dose aspirin, low-dose aspirin taken less than 30% of the time, low-dose aspirin taken 30-69% of the time and low-dose aspirin taken more than 70% of the time. 
• The analyses compared the incidence of stroke, heart attack and death from any cause within 10 years across all four participant groups.
• Across the study’s 10-year follow-up, 88.6% of all participants reported taking low-dose aspirin and 53.15% reported taking statins, or cholesterol-lowering medications.
• An additional analysis investigated potential links between low-dose aspirin use and heart attack, stroke and death based on participants’ levels of blood sugar, or HbA1C results.

Heart attack and stroke are leading causes of death in the U.S., and people with Type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for these events. According to the American Heart Association’s 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, more than half (57%) of all adults in the U.S. have Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Aspirin is a blood-thinning medication and is often used in low doses to reduce CVD risk. Low-dose aspirin is recommended for secondary prevention in the American Heart Association’s 2025 Guideline for the Management of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome for adults who have already had a cardiac event and in the Association’s 2021 Guideline for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients with Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack for adults who have already had a stroke. However, the Association’s 2019 Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease states that daily low-dose aspirin might be considered in select adults 40-70 years of age who are at higher risk for heart disease but not at increased bleeding risk. The Association’s 2024 Guideline for the Primary Prevention of Stroke states that in people with diabetes or other common vascular risk factors and no prior stroke, the use of aspirin to prevent a first stroke is not well established.