Association Between Proton-Pump Inhibitors and Dementia?

In February 2016, a study that linked proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) to dementia was published online and attracted considerable media attention. Because patients who use PPIs continue to ask their physicians about this presumed dementia risk, we thought it worthwhile to revisit the study (the original article now has been published in print).

Drawing from an insurance claims database, researchers compared older (age, ≥75) regular PPI users (≈3000) with older PPI nonusers (≈71,000); patients had no history of dementia at baseline. During about 6 years of follow-up, risk for a new diagnosis of dementia was significantly higher among PPI users than among nonusers (hazard ratio, 1.44).