Studies Find Risks With Heartburn Drugs

A group of popular heartburn drugs can cause more side effects than most people realize. That’s the overall finding of five new research articles. They appear in the May issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The studies focus on proton pump inhibitors. These drugs include omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) and others. They are mostly used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and ulcers. But some prescriptions are not needed, an editorial in the issue says. New research in this issue outlines some risks. One study found that women who take these drugs after menopause are more likely to break bones. Taking them for at least five years raises the risk of infections caused by Clostridium difficile bacteria, another study found.