Antacids May Increase Risk of Fractures, FDA Warns

May 26, 2010, 09:05 am

Extensive use of popular medications such as Prevacid, Nexium and other proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may increase the risk of fractures, warns the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an alert, released on May 25, 2010.

The FDA released the alert after reviewing seven studies addressing the issue, six of which suggested that patients using PPIs at high doses or for more than a year are more likely to experience fractures of the hip, spine and wrist than the general population.

Most of the participants in the studies were at least 50 years of age, and the risk of fractures was greatest in this age group. While an exact causal link between the increased risk of fractures and PPIs has not been established, the FDA is revising the labeling information for all PPI medications to include new warning information as a precautionary measure.

PPIs are available both over-the-counter and by prescription. Over-the-counter PPIs are used to relieve frequent heartburn while prescription PPIs are often used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stomach ulcers and other gastrointestinal conditions.

The new FDA warning comes just weeks after a recent study suggested the risks of PPIs outweigh the benefits for a large number of patients using the medications. The FDA has stated it will work with the manufacturers of PPIs to further assess the risks associated with the drugs.

Additional information about drugs and drug side effects may be found on DrugWatch.com.

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