CHICAGO, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The longer a person stays on drugs designed to stop acid buildup in the stomach, the more likely that person is to have osteoporosis fractures.
"Physicians should be aware of this potential association when considering proton pump inhibitor therapy and should use the lowest effective dose for patients with appropriate indication," said Yu-Xiao Yang, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Proton pump inhibitors have revolutionized treatment of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Yang noted in his article to be published in Wednesday's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
However, the data analyzed from the massive General Practice Research Database -- the records of more than 100,000 patients in the United Kingdom -- suggested that for each year of use, the risk of suffering dangerous hip fractures increases.
At the end of four years the risk of suffering a hip fracture is 60 percent greater in patients taking the acid reflux reduction medicine, Yang said.
Because retrospective analyses have numerous possible flaws, Yang said further studies are needed to determine the effect of the proton pump inhibitors on proper bone formation, especially in older individuals.
He noted that in elderly patients, hip fractures carry a 20 percent mortality rate after one year. He said the medications appear to interfere in the way the body absorbs calcium, required for strength of bones.
