1 week Ago By George Citroner
Using acid-suppressing medications to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in infants increases the risk of developing celiac disease by 50 percent, according to new research. Researchers in Israel looked at how acid-suppressive therapy affects children’s health over time using data from Maccabi Healthcare Services, which covers about a quarter of the Israeli population. The study, recently published in JAMA Network Open, focused on children born between 2005 and 2020.
The researchers divided the children based on whether they had received acid-suppressive therapy during their first six months. The children were followed to see how they were doing until they were 10. Researchers found that 1.
6 percent of children treated with acid-suppressive therapy, such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs), tested positive for celiac disease autoimmunity. This was a significant difference from the 1 percent rate among non-users. The study authors stressed that these findings show a correlation, not causation, and they did not propose a mechanism for a potential link between acid-suppressive drugs and celiac disease.
Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, a board-certified internist, cautioned against long-term use of PPI acid blockers. While many doctors prescribe these drugs for lifetime use, the U.
S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended them for no more than one to two months in most cases. Long-term use of PPIs can lead to side effects like increased risk of fractures and infections and may cause excess acid secretion when people are taken off of them, he said.
“In the long term, this means increasing stomach acid and [using] plant-based, but not animal-based—which are poorly effective—digestive enzymes,” he noted. Acid reflux isn’t typically caused by excessive stomach acid but rather by impaired digestion that allows stomach contents to back up into the esophagus. “If you improve digestion, the reflux becomes less likely,” he said.
He also recommends avoiding iced drinks with meals because the body’s digestive enzymes work best at 98.6 degrees. “If certain foods still cause indigestion,” Teitelbaum added, “Don’t eat them, your body may be trying to tell you it’s junk food and doesn’t want it,” or you may be allergic to the food.
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