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Individuals who take acid reflux disease drugs referred to as proton pump inhibitors for four-and-a-half years or extra could have the next danger of dementia in comparison with individuals who don’t take these drugs, in keeping with new analysis revealed within the August 9, 2023, on-line problem of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This examine doesn’t show that acid reflux disease medication trigger dementia; it solely reveals an affiliation.
Acid reflux disease is when abdomen acid flows into the esophagus, often after a meal or when mendacity down. Individuals with acid reflux disease could expertise heartburn and ulcers. Individuals with frequent acid reflux disease could develop gastroesophageal reflux illness, or GERD, which might result in most cancers of the esophagus.
Proton pump inhibitors scale back abdomen acid by focusing on the enzymes within the abdomen lining that produce that acid.
“Proton pump inhibitors are a useful gizmo to assist management acid reflux disease, nonetheless long-term use has been linked in earlier research to the next danger of stroke, bone fractures and power kidney illness,” mentioned examine creator Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, MBBS, PhD, of the College of Minnesota College of Public Well being in Minneapolis, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “Nonetheless, some individuals take these medication frequently, so we examined if they’re linked to the next danger of dementia. Whereas we didn’t discover a hyperlink with short-term use, we did discover a increased danger of dementia related to long-term use of those medication.”
The examine included 5,712 individuals, age 45 and older, who didn’t have dementia at the beginning of the examine. That they had a mean age of 75.
Researchers decided if individuals took acid reflux disease medication by reviewing their drugs throughout examine visits and through yearly cellphone calls. Of the individuals, 1,490 individuals, or 26%, had taken the medication. Contributors have been then divided into 4 teams based mostly on whether or not they had taken the medication and for the way lengthy, as follows: individuals who didn’t take the medication; those that took the medication for as much as 2.8 years; those that took them for two.8 to 4.4 years; and individuals who took them for greater than 4.4 years.
Contributors have been then adopted for a median length of 5.5 years. Throughout this time, 585 individuals, or 10%, developed dementia.
Of the 4,222 individuals who didn’t take the medication, 415 individuals developed dementia, or 19 instances per 1,000 person-years. Particular person-years signify each the variety of individuals within the examine and the period of time every particular person spends within the examine. Of the 497 individuals who took the medication for greater than 4.4 years, 58 individuals developed dementia, or 24 instances per 1,000 particular person years.
After adjusting for components equivalent to age, intercourse and race, in addition to health-related components equivalent to hypertension and diabetes, researchers discovered individuals who had been taking acid reflux disease medication for greater than 4.4 years had a 33% increased danger of creating dementia than individuals who by no means took the medication.
Researchers didn’t discover a increased danger of dementia for individuals who took the medication for fewer than 4.4 years.
“Extra analysis is required to verify our findings and discover causes for the attainable hyperlink between long-term proton pump inhibitor use and the next danger of dementia,” mentioned Lakshminarayan. “Whereas there are numerous methods to deal with acid reflux disease, equivalent to taking antacids, sustaining a wholesome weight, and avoiding late meals and sure meals, completely different approaches could not work for everybody. It is vital that folks taking these drugs converse with their physician earlier than making any adjustments, to debate the perfect remedy for them, and since stopping these medication abruptly could end in worse signs.”
A limitation of the examine was that individuals have been requested every year about remedy use, so researchers estimated use between annual check-ins. If individuals stopped and restarted acid reflux disease medication in between check-ins, estimation of their use could have been inaccurate. The authors have been additionally unable to evaluate if individuals took over-the-counter acid reflux disease medication.
The examine was supported by the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, together with the Nationwide Coronary heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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