Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct 29;20(1):431.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-020-01844-w.

Community-dwelling older adults' awareness of the inappropriate use of proton pump inhibitors

Mohammad Rababa  1 , Abeer Rababa'h  2
Affiliations

Community-dwelling older adults' awareness of the inappropriate use of proton pump inhibitors

Mohammad Rababa et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are effective in treating gastroesophageal reflux, peptic ulcers, and esophagitis. However, the long-term use of PPIs by older adults is associated with adverse health outcomes. There is limited evidence about older adults' awareness of long-term PPI use and its associated adverse effects. This study aimed to assess older adults' awareness of the adverse effects of the long-term use of PPIs, and their willingness to stop PPI use given of the risks and benefits of PPI use.

Methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 120 older adults from three local healthcare centers located in Irbid, Jordan. Older adults' awareness of PPI use was measured using the Patients' Perceptions of Proton Pump Inhibitor Risks and Attempts at Discontinuation Survey.

Results: the majority of the participating older adults were not familiar with any reports linking long-term PPI use with adverse effects, reported no concerns related to the chronic use of PPIs, and reported that they had not discussed the benefits and risks of PPI use with their primary care providers (PCPs). Although the majority of the participants had not previously attempted to stop using PPIs, the majority expressed a willingness to stop PPIs due to their adverse effects, especially if advised to do so by a PCP. The factors associated with the long-term use of PPIs included age, indications for gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD), improvement of GERD symptoms, and the willingness to reduce or stop PPIs. Being advised by a PCP to stop PPIs (p = 0.049) and having increased concerns about the adverse effects of long-term PPI use (p < 0.0001) were the only two statistically significant predictors of previous attempts to stop PPIs.

Conclusions: concerns regarding the adverse effects of long-term PPI use were associated with attempts to stop PPIs, especially in cases where this was recommended by a PCP. Discussions between PCPs and patients regarding the risks and benefits of PPIs are necessary in order to ensure that patients do not make inappropriate decisions regarding ongoing PPI therapy. Careful evaluation of the long-term use of PPIs among older adults is required.

Keywords: Awareness; Community; Knowledge; Older adults; Proton pump inhibitors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Nguyen PV, Tamaz R. Inappropriate prescription of proton pump inhibitors in a community setting. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2018;71(4):267–271. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zirk-Sadowski J, Masoli JA, Delgado J, Hamilton W, Strain WD, Henley W, Melzer D, Ble A. Proton-pump inhibitors and long-term risk of community-acquired pneumonia in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018;66(7):1332–1338. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15385. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Voukelatou P, Vrettos I, Emmanouilidou G, Dodos K, Skotsimara G, Kontogeorgou D, Kalliakmanis A. Predictors of inappropriate proton pump inhibitors use in elderly patients. Curr Gerontol Geriatr Res. 2019;2019. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dent J, El-Serag HB, Wallander M, Johansson S. Epidemiology of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review. Gut. 2005;54(5):710–717. doi: 10.1136/gut.2004.051821. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Freedberg DE, Kim LS, Yang YX. The risks and benefits of long-term use of proton pump inhibitors: expert review and best practice advice from the American Gastroenterological Association. Gastroenterology. 2017;152(4):706–715. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2017.01.031. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Substances