These Heartburn Meds May Shorten Your Life…

Proton pump inhibitor medications used to treat heartburn may increase the risk of early death when taken for extended periods of time. Investigators compared the medical records of nearly 276,000 users of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) against those of about 73,000 people who took another class of heartburn medication called H2 blockers. They found that patients taking PPIs for a year or more had a 51% increased risk of premature death, compared with 31% for people on PPIs for six months to a year, and 17% for three – to six-month users. The researchers add that short-term use of PPIs of up to 90 days did not appear to affect mortality risk. Senior researcher Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly comments, “If people find themselves taking proton pump inhibitors for an extended period of time with no valid need for doing so, or for symptoms that can be managed in other ways, that’s when there’s far more risk than any potential benefit.” —BMJ Open, June 2017