Acid Reflux Drugs Tied to Bone Fractures

REPOST

By RONI CARYN RABIN/New York Times

Published: May 13, 2011

The analysis did not find a similar increase in fracture risk among patients taking older acid reflux medications, called histamine-2 receptor antagonists.A new analysis adds to growing evidence that people using proton pump inhibitors to control symptoms of acid reflux are more likely tofracture bones than those who do not.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration revised the label on proton pump inhibitors, or P.P.I.’s, to warn that they may raise the risk of fractures. In March, it removed the warnings from nonprescription P.P.I.’s, saying those were meant only for short courses of treatment while the fracture risk had been observed in long-term users.

The new analysis, published in the May-June issue of Annals of Family Medicine, examined 11 studies and found that patients taking P.P.I.’s were 29 percent more likely to get fractures.

The researchers also found that long-term users were 30 percent more likely to get fractures, and those taking high doses were 53 percent more likely to get hip fractures in particular.

Dr. Seung-Kwon Myung, a staff physician and senior scientist at the National Cancer Center in Seoul, South Korea, and one of the paper’s authors, said P.P.I. treatment may affect the intestine’s ability to absorb calcium. “Long-term or frequent use of P.P.I.’s should be avoided,” he said
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