Some antacids can cause hip fractures- Study

People, especially adults over 50, taking anti-heartburn drugs for long periods are at a higher risk of getting their hips fractured, a new study carried out by Pennsylvania researchers in Britain revealed Tuesday.

The study, published in this week's issue of Journal of the American Medical Association, linked the long-term use of popular heartburn drugs such as AstraZeneca's Nexium, TAP Pharmaceutical's Prevacid or Prilosec to the significant increased risk of hip fractures, probably because the drugs inhibit calcium absorption.

People who suffer from acid-related stomach problems including ulcers and gastro-esophageal reflux use these powerful antacid drugs, called proton pump inhibitors, as they provide relief to the patient.

On the other hand, the researchers hypothesize that in addition to reducing acid in the stomach, the drugs also make it more difficult for the body to absorb bone-building calcium, that lead to weaker bones and fractures.

"The perception is that the drugs are completely safe, and doctors dispense them without thinking too much about the risks and the benefits," said lead researcher, Dr. Yu-Xiao Yang of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The findings have raised the concerns about the safety of above mentioned drugs, which block production of acid in the stomach, and are among the most widely used and heavily prescribed drugs in the United States, with combined annual sales of more than $10 billion.

Dr. Yang and his colleagues looked at medical database of nearly 150,000 Britons over the age of 50 who suffered more than 13,500 hip fracture cases in aggregate. They also involved a group of 135,386 healthy people to match the data.

After observing the database, the researchers found that those using the anti-heartburn drugs for at least one year were at a 44 percent greater risk of hip fracture than non-users. They witnessed the greater risk in those who took high doses of the drugs. This group had as much as 2.6 times the normal risk.

Conclusively, the study indicated the longer the drugs were used and the higher the dosage, the greater the risk of fracturing a hip.

The study also found that men using the drugs had about twice the risk of hip fractures as did women. The researchers speculated that the ratio between the men and women is greater because women consume calcium supplements as post-menopausal therapy.

Meanwhile, the manufacturers of the drugs mentioned in the study does not agree with the results of the new research contending that the safety of their proton pump inhibitors has been well-established by intensive studies, and that the new study does not prove or disprove their connection to hip fractures.

Hip fractures are one of the most devastating and costly problems which are specifically curse for the elderly.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Gastroenterological Association/GlaxoSmithKline Glaxo Institute for Digestive Health the study recommends that the elderly patients undergoing long-term and high-dose drug therapy should consider increasing calcium intake.