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(HealthDay News) Add-on proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy may improve glycemic indices among individuals with diabetes, but PPI treatment is not associated with the risk for incident diabetes in individuals without diabetes, according to a review published online June 25 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Carol Chiung-Hui Peng, M.D., from the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and colleagues evaluated the impact of PPI therapy on glycemic control among individuals with diabetes and on the risk of diabetes among those without diabetes. The meta-analysis included seven studies (342 participants) for glycemic control and five studies (244,439 participants) for risk of incident diabetes.

The researchers found that, compared with diabetes patients receiving standard care, those receiving add-on PPI therapy had significant decreases in hemoglobin A1c (weighted mean difference, −10.0 mg/dL; 95% confidence interval, −19.4 to −0.6; P = 0.025) and fasting blood glucose (weighted mean difference, −0.36; 95% confidence interval, −0.68 to −0.05; P = 0.037). PPI use was not associated with risk for incident diabetes (pooled relative risk, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 1.34; P = 0.385).

“People with diabetes should be aware that these commonly used antacid medications may improve their blood sugar control, and providers could consider this glucose-lowering effect when prescribing these medications to their patients,” a coauthor said in a statement.

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