Nexium does not lead to greater a risk of pneumonia

In the past, some have said that those taking heartburn drugs were at a greater risk of developing pneumonia. However, Nexium users need not worry. Based on research that was conducted by professionals at Massachusetts General Hospital, there is no link between the two.

The evidence
"Our study is the first to show that use of PPIs [proton pump inhibitors] most likely does not lead to higher rates of pneumonia or other health problems identified in observational studies," Dr. Anupam Jena, an author of the study, said in a statement.

Rather, these researchers discovered previous investigations that made these claims didn't look at the overall health or likelihood to seek out health care services of patients. In many of these cases, it was assumed that there was a link between decreased stomach acid production and growth of ingested bacteria, leading to pneumonia.

After reviewing information that was collected over the course of 11 years based on the insurance claims of nearly 54,500 beneficiaries, Jena and other colleagues compared patients using PPIs to those who were not. There was no information indicating that heartburn medications were responsible for bouts of pneumonia. Although, these individuals were more likely to experience a number of health concerns. Such trends continued even when those patients reduced use of PPIs, indicating that the medications were not the cause of these issues.

"Several unmeasured factors, including physicians' likelihood of diagnosing a condition or prescribing any medication, can confound associations like the one between PPIs and pneumonia," Jena explained.

Causes of pneumonia
Those who are most at risk for developing pneumonia include diabetics and people who have asthma. Although flu shots are advised for all during this time of year, it is especially important for these individuals to do so in order to reduce their risk of developing this lung infection. Additionally, children younger than 5 and adults older than 64 are at a greater chance for being diagnosed with the disease.

Other ways to avoid pneumonia include:

Regularly washing hands
Preventing respiratory infections
Keeping often-touched hard surfaces clean
Limiting exposure to cigarette smoke
Keeping up with vaccinations

This is a dangerous infection that kills more than 1.5 million children globally each year. That doesn't count for the number of adults who are also affected by pneumonia. In 2009, more than 50,000 Americans died because of this disease. So, although drugs like Nexium may not increase your risk for the infection, it is still important to take the appropriate preventative measures against it.