Medical experts have changed their recommendations regarding the use of aspirin to prevent heart disease in male diabetics under the age of 50 and female diabetics under the age of 60.

Since diabetics face a higher risk of heart disease as they age, many doctors had previously recommended that diabetics use low-dose aspirin therapy along with their other medications to mitigate risk.

However, an analysis of nine previous studies has found that the risks of some side effects such as stomach bleeding have to be better balanced against the potential benefits of using aspirin.

"The larger theme here is that use of low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks in people who have not already experienced one is probably not as efficacious as we used to believe it was," said Craig Williams, one of the experts on the review panel. "In the case of young adults with diabetes but no other significant risk factors, it’s not clear that the benefits are adequate to merit use of aspirin."

The new recommendations suggest that aspirin be used only by diabetics who have other risk factors and are older. A recent update to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is still recommending aspirin use for older adults who are not diabetics – ages 45-79 for men, 55-79 for women – and who have other risk factors.