Analgesics and risk of coronary and other death in middle-aged men in eastern Finland.

The association between oral analgesics and the risk of death from ischaemic heart disease (IHD), cardiovascular disease, disease other than IHD, and any disease was studied in a cohort of 3551 men aged 30-59 years, based on a random sample from the population of eastern Finland. A number of potential coronary risk factors were allowed for in multiple logistic models. On the basis of these data, a regular use of oral analgesics is associated with a decreased risk of death from IHD. The relative risk was 0.6 with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.2-0.9 for IHD death and 0.6 (95% CI = 0.4-0.9) for cardiovascular death. No significant association was found between oral analgesics and the risk of death from diseases other than IHD.