No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults, suggests study
Study from Mass General Brigham and Karolinska Institutet researchers suggests that patients with the condition do not need to stop taking important medications
Microscopic colitis (MC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that severely reduces quality of life. MC is responsible for over 30% of all chronic diarrhea cases in people over 65 years of age, and its prevalence is rising worldwide. Although little is known about what causes MC, previous studies have suggested that a range of common medications could trigger the condition, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), blood pressure medications, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
However, according to a new large-scale, longitudinal study of older adults in Sweden from Mass General Brigham, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Karolinska Institutet researchers, most of these medications are not associated with increased risk of MC. Results are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
“Our study demonstrated that, contrary to the previous belief, it’s unlikely that medications are the primary triggers for microscopic colitis,” said corresponding author Hamed Khalili, MD MPH, associate director of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and director of Clinical Research at the Crohn's and Colitis Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “Clinicians should carefully balance the intended benefits of these medications against the very low likelihood that they cause microscopic colitis.”
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