20 Jan PPIs Linked to Worse Cognitive Issues in Breast Cancer Survivors

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Annelise Madison

Annelise Madison
Lead author of the study
Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology
Ohio State

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Recently, there have been some reports of cognitive problems among those using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Some breast cancer survivors use PPIs during and after treatment to manage gastrointestinal side effects of cancer treatment or to prevent damage to the gut lining.

We were interested in whether PPI use among breast cancer survivors related to cognitive problems. We conducted secondary analyses on data from three studies with breast cancer survivors. We found that breast cancer survivors taking PPIs reported cognitive problems that were between 20-29% worse than those reported by non-users.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: ​There are multiple biological pathways by which PPI use may impact cognition. These findings provide preliminary evidence that there may be a relationship between PPI use and cognitive function in breast cancer survivors, but a long-term randomized, controlled trial is needed to further investigate this potential link. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? 

Response: This area of research would benefit from longer-term randomized, controlled trials, particularly among samples who are already at risk for cognitive decline, to investigate the potential cognitive impact of chronic PPI usage. Also, further investigation into the most effective method to discontinue PPI usage is warranted, as the fear of rebound acid hyper-secretion may prevent people from stopping PPI therapy.

No disclosures

Citation:

Annelise A. Madison, Alex Woody, Brittney Bailey, Maryam B. Lustberg, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Robert Wesolowski, Nicole Williams, Raquel Reinbolt, Jeffrey B. VanDeusen, Sagar Sardesai, William B. Malarkey, Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser. Cognitive problems of breast cancer survivors on proton pump inhibitors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2020; DOI: 10.1007/s11764-019-00815-4

Last Modified: [last-modified]

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Last Updated on January 20, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD