Heartburn Drugs Linked To Kidney Failure, Study Finds

A popular drug used to treat heartburn, ulcers and acid reflux that is available without a prescription has been linked to kidney damage and failure, new research has found.

In the study, people who regularly take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — which include popular medication like Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid — were 26 percent more likely to experience chronic kidney disease and 96 percent more likely to develop kidney failure.

Other heartburn drugs like Tums and Rolaids don't fall into that category.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, is the latest in a series of scientific analyses to find a link between PPIs, which are readily available over the counter, and long-term health issues.

"What makes it more relevant to a public health perspective is that there are a very high number of people who are taking PPIs, and it’s very available over the counter," Ziyad Al-Aly, a professor of medicine at Washington University and the lead author on the study, told Patch.

"You can go to Walgreens or CVS and pick it up on your own. The general public’s assumption is that this is very safe — if it’s available at Walmart or Target, it’s very safe. It may not be as safe as we thought."

PPIs work by reducing the production of stomach acid and can have mild side effects like nausea or abdominal pain.

They were prescribed to 15 million Americans in 2013, according to the study, but nationwide use is much higher, since they are easily available over the counter.

Researchers used data from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the study. They found 173,321 new users of prescription PPIs and compared them to 20,270 new users of histamine H2 receptor blockers, a separate drug used to suppress stomach acid.

Following them for five years, the PPI users had the increased risk of kidney disease and failure. And, the study found, the longer people used PPIs, the more likely they were to develop the risks — and the more severe the damage.

"It’s not only associated with developing chronic kidney disease, but also the progression of kidney disease to end-stage renal disease," Al-Aly said. "Complete kidney failure."

Mike Tringale, a spokesman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents manufacturers of over-the-counter, told Patch that readily available PPIs have been approved as safe by the FDA in small doses but taking more than necessary may have negative long-term effects.

"The short-term safety profile of over-the-counter PPIs is not in question," Tringale said.

The study looked at prescription PPIs, which are stronger in dosage and are usually taken for a longer period of time. Those prescription drugs have been linked with several major health problems.

In February, a German study found a significant link between prescribed PPIs and dementia. Another study published earlier this year also found the PPI-kidney failure connection.

Al-Aly said that health officials should re-examine the wide availability of PPIs over the counter and that people should only take them when it is absolutely needed.

"People should limit their exposure to PPIs to the minimum necessary," Al-Ay said. "They only should be taking it when it is medically indicated."