PPIs for COVID, good. PPIs for Diabetes, bad.
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Interesting that famotidine has been associated with better results with respect to recovery from COVID-19.
Looks like the risk of getting diabetes is significantly increased.
Often-used drugs called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, ease heartburn symptoms, but a new study suggests they might also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Chinese researchers drew on information from studies of more than 200,000 U.S. health care professionals and found that regular use of PPIs -- such as Aciphex, Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix -- was associated with a 24% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The researchers also found that the longer people used the drugs, the higher their odds of diabetes.
"Regular PPI use was likely to be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly for those with prolonged use," the authors wrote in the report published online this week in the journal Gut.
Jinqiu Yuan, a researcher from the Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, led the study.
PPIs are available by prescription or over-the-counter to treat acid reflux, peptic ulcers and other digestive conditions. They are among the top 10 drugs used worldwide. Long-term use has previously been linked to a greater risk of bone fractures, kidney disease, digestive tract infections and stomach cancer.
Based on the new findings, the researchers suggested that people taking PPIs for a long time should have their blood sugar monitored for changes that might indicate developing diabetes.
It's important to note, however, that this study was not designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between PPIs and type 2 diabetes. It can only show a link between the two.
The researchers relied on data from three long-term studies of U.S. health professionals that began in the 1970s and 1980s. They included more than 176,000 women and nearly 29,000 men.
Participants provided information on their health and behaviors every two years. In the early 2000s, the questions expanded to include whether they had used a PPI two or more times a week.
The investigators tried to control for factors that might affect type 2 diabetes risk, including high blood pressure, weight and physical inactivity.
Besides linking regular use of PPIs to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, the researchers found that long-term use increased the odds, too. Study participants who used PPIs for up to two years had a 5% increased risk, and the risk rose 26% for those who took the drugs more than two years.
The study authors also noted that when people stopped taking these drugs, the risk of diabetes fell, and it continued to do so even more over time.
Surprisingly, the risk of diabetes associated with PPI use appeared to be highest in people with normal blood pressure and lower weight. Typically, higher weight is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
The study also found a 14% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in people taking another type of heartburn medication called H2 receptor blockers -- such as Pepcid, Tagamet, Zantac.
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Famotidine isn’t a PPI, it’s a histamine blocker.
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Ah, I see where they note a 14% increase for Histamine Blockers later...
Still, I think the link is tenuous. The primary cause of GERD is obesity, which goes hand in hand with diabetes.
