Popping a pill for heartburn daily for years could raise the risk for a person to develop dementia later on, according to a new study. But the report goes against other recent research that failed to find a link.
A study published this week in the journal Neurology said there are long-term ramifications of using proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs. The over-the-counter drugs are some of the top-selling medications in the US, and include Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec. Other PPIs are only available with a prescription.
A team looked at 5,712 older U.S. adults who took PPIs for 4.5 years or more. The people didn’t have dementia during their study visits between 2011 and 2013. On average, people were 75 at the time. During a 5.5-year span, 585 study participants were diagnosed with dementia. The people taking the PPIs had a 33% greater risk of developing dementia than those who never used the drugs.
Experts warn that people shouldn’t stop taking their medication just because they learn about this report. The research shows a link between the medications and dementia, but the results do not say that the medications definitely cause dementia. The research only looked at cumulative long-term use. It doesn’t include people who may use the medications for short-term relief.
In recent years, researchers have found long-term PPI use is tied to several health risks including heart attacks, kidney disease and death. A 2016 study suggested dementia could be an outcome from prolonged PPI use.
Some studies have found no association between PPIs and dementia, while some have even linked the medications to a decreased dementia risk. This is according to Fouad Moawad, MD, a gastroenterologist at Scripps Health in La Jolla, CA, who is also a spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association.
Other experts agree evidence indicting PPIs is lacking.
“This study is only showing an association, not cause-and-effect,” said Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, PhD, the senior researcher on the study and a vascular neurologist and professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis.
Andrew Chan, MD, gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, published a study in Gastroenterology in June this year that did not uncover a find a link between PPI use and dementia or milder age-related problems with memory and thinking. It focused on about 19,000 adults, and the team followed up on them for up to seven years.
