Long-term PPI Use Increases the risk and recurrence of Kidney Stones

Original research published in BMJ Open has concluded that the prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increases the likelihood of developing and experiencing the recurrence of kidney stones.

The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between PPI use and the risk of kidney stones in US adults, which had been suggested by previous research to be connected to changes in urine mineral levels.

The study included 27075 individuals. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, non-linear analysis, logistic regression analysis and subgroup analysis estimated the relationship.

Key findings of the study are:

• There was a significant association between PPI use and kidney stones with OR 1.31.
• There was a 4% increase in the kidney stones prevalence for each additional year of PPI use.
• There was an association between PPI use and recurrent kidney stones with OR 1.49.
• There was a 7% increase in the recurrence of kidney stones for each additional year of PPI use.
• The associations remained significant even after conducting propensity score matching analysis on a subset of PPI users and non-users.
• Based on the analysis of subgroup analyses, the effects of PPI use on kidney stones differed by age, sex, race and BMI.

The study highlights the relationship between PPI and kidney stones. Based on the findings from this study, long-term use of PPI is tied to a higher risk of both the presence and recurrence of kidney stones.

It is important for healthcare providers to counsel patients who have a history of or are at risk for developing kidney stones about this potential link.

Reference:

Liu W, Wang J, Wang M, et al. Association of proton pump inhibitor use with risk of kidney stones: an analysis of cross-sectional data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2018). BMJ Open 2023;13:e075136. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075136