If you or a loved one has suffered from heartburn or gastrointestinal reflux disease, you may have heard of common heartburn medications such as Nexium or Prilosec. These are “proton pump inhibitors” (PPIs), and some new studies are showing that they may increase the risk of kidney disease in users.
According to the study in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers studied more than 10,000 people for nearly fourteen years to compare those who used PPI medications to those who did not. Researchers found that PPI users were 20 – 50% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than non-users, and some PPI users in the study eventually suffered from end-stage kidney failure.
Another recent study from this April in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology estimated that about 15 million Americans were prescribed PPI medications in 2013, and that this rate has likely increased since then regardless of so many PPIs also being available over-the-counter. This study found a higher risk for chronic kidney disease in about 28% of PPI users, and these medications have even been deemed “inappropriate” and “unhelpful” for treating occasional heartburn by Dr. F. Paul Buckley, surgical director of the Heartburn and Acid Reflux Center.
Anyone who is prescribed drugs by a doctor has a legal right to understand and be warned of such potentially-dangerous effects of these medications, and if you or a loved one has been injured or developed kidney disease due to a PPI medication, you may have a viable legal claim against its manufacturer. Contact America’s Consumer Lawyer for a free consultation.
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