An NIH-supported study of 10,486 patients found no link between proton pump inhibitor use and patient risks for mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, based on patient-reported data of PPI use. The data, reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, contradict findings of two other recent studies.

“The current findings do not support that PPIs are associated with greater risk of dementia despite mechanisms proposed as to why they should be,” including higher beta amyloid levels and vitamin B12 deficiency, Felicia C. Goldstein, PhD, of the department of neurology at Emory University, and colleagues wrote. However, they emphasized that “caution needs to be exercised when speculating about the effect of PPIs on brain functioning until a randomized, prospective clinical trial elucidates the effect of PPIs on cognition.”

The researchers acknowledged that the study is limited by the use of patient-reported data on PPI use, but concluded their findings “do not confirm recent reports that the use of PPIs is linked to greater risk of dementia and [Alzheimer’s disease].”

See Adam Leitenberger’s summary on Healio here. 

See the medical article online here.