Aug 11, 2023 05:59 PM
https://www.vox.com/health/2023/8/10/238...i-prilosec
EXCERPTS: On Wednesday, the journal Neurology published an attention-grabbing study, reporting a possible link between taking heartburn medications like Prilosec and developing dementia. It generated scary-sounding headlines and reanimated a conversation about the safety of the medications — and, simultaneously, questions about how the general public should understand conflicting results from medical studies.
[...] A lot of research looks at outcomes in people who take PPIs compared with people who don’t. Here, it’s important to note that people who get heartburn — making it more likely they’ll take a PPI — are likely to be different in important ways from people who don’t, said Desai. That’s because heartburn is a common symptom of several common chronic medical conditions.
This is key to understanding why the new study might not be as consequential as some headlines make it out to be.
[,,,] “Patients with acid reflux, very likely they are overweight, they have hiatal hernia, they have obesity. Sometimes they have other underlying cardiometabolic risk factors: high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and so forth,” said Desai. And all of these conditions raise the risk of developing other complications, including cognitive decline and dementia, he said.
Large studies have shown that people taking PPIs are more likely to have other medical conditions than people who aren’t taking them. In a recent study involving 19,000 patients, people who took these medications were more likely to also be taking medications to treat high blood pressure and cholesterol, for example.
[...] the medications play an important role in reducing health risks for many people. “If acid reflux is not controlled well, it can cause a variety of complications, including cancer at a later stage,” said Desai. So people should not be ditching their heartburn medications en masse based on alarming headlines... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: On Wednesday, the journal Neurology published an attention-grabbing study, reporting a possible link between taking heartburn medications like Prilosec and developing dementia. It generated scary-sounding headlines and reanimated a conversation about the safety of the medications — and, simultaneously, questions about how the general public should understand conflicting results from medical studies.
[...] A lot of research looks at outcomes in people who take PPIs compared with people who don’t. Here, it’s important to note that people who get heartburn — making it more likely they’ll take a PPI — are likely to be different in important ways from people who don’t, said Desai. That’s because heartburn is a common symptom of several common chronic medical conditions.
This is key to understanding why the new study might not be as consequential as some headlines make it out to be.
[,,,] “Patients with acid reflux, very likely they are overweight, they have hiatal hernia, they have obesity. Sometimes they have other underlying cardiometabolic risk factors: high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and so forth,” said Desai. And all of these conditions raise the risk of developing other complications, including cognitive decline and dementia, he said.
Large studies have shown that people taking PPIs are more likely to have other medical conditions than people who aren’t taking them. In a recent study involving 19,000 patients, people who took these medications were more likely to also be taking medications to treat high blood pressure and cholesterol, for example.
[...] the medications play an important role in reducing health risks for many people. “If acid reflux is not controlled well, it can cause a variety of complications, including cancer at a later stage,” said Desai. So people should not be ditching their heartburn medications en masse based on alarming headlines... (MORE - missing details)