A new report in our Canadian pharmacy journal, Pharmacy Practice Plus, describes a Health Canada review of the association between stomach medications known as Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPIs (Losec, Prevacid, Nexium and others) and a type of autoimmune disease, SCLE (Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosis). Health Canada determined that there was enough evidence of an association between the drugs and this disease that product safety information should be updated to warn consumers.
SCLE is a rare disease, but since PPI drugs are available without prescription and are taken regularly by so many people, Health Canada wants to raise awareness of this potential safety issue. Of 18 international reports of patients with SCLE taking one of several different PPI stomach medications, 16 recovered when the drug was stopped, and at least one developed the disease again when the drug was restarted.
Autoimmune disorders have increased worldwide in Westernized societies over the past 30 years. Currently it is estimated that approximately 2 million Canadians and up to 23.5 million Americans suffer from autoimmune diseases, such as Lupus, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and others… all are caused by an immune system not working properly. Although long-term studies are scarce, in US immune disorders were documented to have risen from 3% in the 1960s to 9% in 2009.
Given that bacteria in the gut are now known to influence the immune system, and that PPI acid-blocking medications can cause a change in gut bacteria, it should not be a surprise that there is an association between their use and an autoimmune disease. Perhaps researchers should be looking at whether there might be an association between PPIs and other diseases caused by immune system dysfunction.
If you have an autoimmune disease and are taking regular stomach medications, talk to your doctor about this possible association and whether you should consider stopping this medication.
Here is a link to a blog I wrote earlier about the problems that can be caused by long term use of PPI stomach medications: Do-you-take-daily-stomach-medicine
And the Health Canada report is here: Health Canada if you are interested in reading the summary.
