“It is very reasonable to assume that PPIs themselves can cause chronic kidney disease”, Arora said. The study revealed that use of the PPIs which are for stomach ulcers and Heartburns will promote CKD which is not a good sign. The results will be presented during the 2015 ASN Kidney Week (November 3-8) taking place at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.
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The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is on the rise, with more than 20 million Americans burdened by the disease. The same findings were replicated again in a study involving over 240,000 patients who were followed between 1997 and 2014.
Turns out that the common, over-the-counter drugs people use to treat heartburn may come with a serious risk. A strong association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the medications has been found in two separate studies.
Acid reflux and heartburn are aggravating for sufferers, but two new studies suggest that the medications used to treat them could damage the kidneys, increasing the risk of chronic kidney disease.
Diabetes and hypertension are common risk factors for kidney disease; however, certain medications can also play a role. Previously, proton pump inhibitors have been tied to short-term kidney problems like acute kidney injury and an inflammatory kidney disease called acute interstitial nephritis. The condition occurs when a person’s kidneys become damaged and fail to filter blood as they normally function.
For one study, Pradeep Arora, M.D., a nephrologist and associate professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Science in New York, and colleagues included 24,149 patients who developed chronic kidney disease between 2001 and 2008. They found that PPI users were between 20% and 50% more likely to develop CKD than non-PPI users, even after accounting for baseline differences between users and non-users.
It isn’t the first time that PPIs have been linked to kidney problems.
“Symptom control is important, but if the patient does not need to be on these strong acid reducers known as PPIs, they could be moved down to another class of drugs called H2 blockers”, said Dr. Taormina. “If we know the potential adverse effects of PPI medications we can design better interventions to reduce overuse”, he said.
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According to US data, 90 percent of the prescriptions for PPI are not related to FDA-approved indications. “We are using this medication right and left, and it may be counterproductive for many patients”. When looking at the total group of patients (n=71,516), those who took PPIs were at a lower risk of developing hypertension, cancer, diabetes, vascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
