Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which include well-known brands like Prilosec, Nexium, and Prevacid, are among the most commonly prescribed medications worldwide.
Approximately 10% of adults in the United States use these drugs to manage frequent heartburn, acid reflux, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
The Study and Its Findings
Scientists from the University of California San Diego conducted a study to assess the potential risks of PPIs on kidney health.
They analyzed data from the FAERS database, which contains over 10 million patient records of voluntary reports of adverse effects while taking a medication.
The team focused on patients who took PPIs exclusively, narrowing their study to around 43,000 patients.
They also included a control group of about 8,000 patients who took histamine-2 receptor blockers, such as Zantac or Pepcid, without any other medications.
The study found that patients who only took PPIs reported kidney-related adverse reactions at a rate of 5.6%, compared to just 0.7% for patients who only took histamine-2 receptor antagonists.
Compared to the control group, patients who took PPIs alone were 28.4 times more likely to report chronic kidney disease.
They were also more likely to report acute kidney injury (4.2 times more likely), end-stage renal disease (35.5 times more likely), and unspecified kidney impairment (8 times more likely).
Additionally, patients taking PPIs were more likely to experience electrolyte abnormalities, although this varied more by individual PPI, while kidney-specific effects held true for all five PPIs examined.
Implications and Consequences
While the World Health Organization notes that PPIs are essential for many people, helping them to control symptoms often painful and disruptive to daily life, the study’s findings suggest these drugs may increase the risk of kidney disease.
The researchers hope that these initial findings will encourage healthcare providers to provide appropriate warnings, education, and monitoring for patients requiring PPIs, especially those already at elevated risk for kidney disease.
In light of these findings, it’s also worth revisiting a 2017 UC San Diego School of Medicine study that found evidence in mice and humans that PPIs promote chronic liver disease.
For more information about kidney health, consider reading studies about how to improve the outcomes of chronic kidney disease and how common heartburn drugs may cause gradual yet ‘silent’ kidney damage.
The study was published in Scientific Reports and conducted by Ruben Abagyan and colleagues.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about how to protect your kidneys from diabetes, and scientists find the key to the treatment of kidney diseases.
For more information about kidney health, please see recent studies about how to live long with kidney disease, and common painkillers that may harm the heart, kidneys, and more.
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