Treat Heartburn, Break a Hip?

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Reported December

27, 2006

Treat Heartburn, Break a Hip?

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People who take common

medications like Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid to suppress stomach acid may

be trading bone health for heartburn relief.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania

find use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increased the odds of breaking a

hip by about 44 percent in people who took the drugs for about a year. People

who took higher doses for longer periods were about two-and-a-half-times more

likely to suffer a hip fracture.

Previous studies have linked PPIs to decreased

absorption of calcium and lower bone density in some people, and this could

explain the higher rate of hip fractures among those who take them, report

the investigators.

The authors write these findings suggest doctors

should more carefully discuss bone health with patients taking these drugs

and possibly recommend calcium supplements. They also call on physicians to

prescribe the lowest possible effective doses.

The study was based on a review of the medical

records of more than 13,000 hip fracture patients and 135,000 people without

hip fractures, all of who were age 50 and older. The investigators note hip

fractures, which are common among older people, lead to death in about 20

percent of cases. One in five of those who survive are likely to require

nursing home care.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who

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SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association,

2006;296:2947-2953