Over 20 million people in the U.S. alone use PPIs to relieve heartburn and acid reflux. In a study in USA, among those who were prescribed proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) at discharge, 73% had no valid indication. A recent study suggests that commonly prescribed PPIs are more likely to develop chronic renal diseases in users than non-users.
It is estimated that over 10 years, the absolute risk of chronic renal disease was 11.8 percent among users, versus 8.5 percent among non-users. It is possible that the users may have had other confounding risk factors for kidney disease that are unrelated to PPIs. Therefore, doctors must weigh the risks of rare but serious side effect associated with PPIs use.
