Acid reflux drugs linked to kidney disease

In the analysis, the researchers have linked PPI use with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease in both data sets.

So, when drug researchers developed the proton pump inhibitor (PPI), it was largely seen as a godsend for those who suffer from this consistently uncomfortable condition.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are commonly used to reduce acid in the stomach, appear to be associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but more research is needed to determine whether PPI use causes kidney damage, according to an article published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Based on the results, Dr. John O’Brian Clarke, a gastroenterologist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, said, “I would not restrict proton pump inhibitors based on this study alone; the overall risk of [kidney failure] in the study population was still quite low and the association with proton pump inhibitors and renal injury is still only an association”. “That suggests that perhaps this observed effect is real”.

All analyses of the Geisinger Health System replication cohort also demonstrated an association between PPI use and chronic kidney disease, and a higher risk was associated with twice-daily PPI dosing (aHR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.28-1.67) compared with once-daily dosing (aHR = 1.15; 95% CI, 1.09-1.21).

In 2013, there were more than 15 million Americans who used prescription PPIs with a total cost of more than $10 billion.

The side effect is rare, and the study does not prove the drugs cause kidney failure, Johns Hopkins scientists cautioned. Study findings suggest that up to 70% of these prescriptions are without indication and that 25% of long-term PPI users could discontinue therapy without developing symptoms. In both the groups, the researchers have linked use of drugs with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease over 10 years.

Newer studies now show a link between the drugs and chronic kidney disease, in which the kidneys lose their ability to filter blood effectively. “Indeed, there are already calls for the reduction of unnecessary use of PPIs”, the authors conclude.

While this study shouldn’t lead anyone to knee-jerk stop using proton pump inhibitors, people who use them regularly should talk with their doctor about whether they really need them, Grams and DeVault said.

Heartburn is one of the most common medical complaints, and so heartburn remedies are some of the most prescribed and widely used medications. These medications act on the body by telling the stomach to produce less natural acid, which eases the pain of heartburn (and thus, supposedly, lowering risk for those cancers).

When the medications were first introduced in the USA, they were considered as miracle drugs that have no side effects, according to Adam Jacob Schoenfeld of the University of California San Francisco.