Millions of people pop a pill to reduce heartburn and stomach acid making the class of drugs one of the highest sellers in the nation. But the remedies could actually pose more risks than benefits for most people, according to a package of new studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), drugs such as Prilosec and Prevacid -- available over-the-counter -- and by-prescription Nexium were associated with a type of bacteria infection and bone fractures, the studies found.
In one study, people who took the PPIs daily had a 74 percent increase in a bacteria infection called Clostridium difficile. In another, postmenopausal women who took the drug were more likely to have spine, wrist and forearm fractures.
This is not the first research to raise concerns about the risks of the drugs. We reported on this a few years ago when a study first suggested that the medications were associated with weakened bones among older people.
While the risks of developing complications were relatively small overall, the bigger problem is that the drugs are overused, says Dr. Mitchell H. Katz, of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, in an accompanying editorial.
The market for the drugs is huge with 113.4 million prescriptions for PPI's are filled each year, accounting for $13.9 billion in sales -- the third highest seller nationwide, he writes.
The reason? Many people take the drugs to relieve the symptoms of dyspepsia, a fancy word for persistent indigestion and a condition that affects some 25 percent of adults. The next step -- medicine designs a pill to treat the common condition and overuse ensues, he writes.
"The problem with this paradigm is that for most patients the adverse effects of PPIs outweigh the benefits. Reducing the unnecessary use of these medications will require action by both physicians and patients."
"Harm will result if these commonly used medications are prescribed for conditions for which there is no benefit, such as non-ulcer dyspepsia," write Dr. Deborah Grady, of the University of California, San Francisco and Dr. Rita F. Redberg, in another editorial.
The research and the opinion pieces are part of the journal's "Less is More" series, highlighting the need for the medical community, and the public at large, to question when certain medical interventions are appropriate.
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