According to a new study, it appears that regular use of the proton pump inhibitor drugs, prazoles, used by many people to keep gastritis and gastric reflux at bay, may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

The research was published in the scientific journal BMJ Journal . It is the result of three prospective cohort studies by scientists from various universities and medical centers from China, Hong Kong and the United States.

In total, data from over 200,000 people who regularly used proton pump inhibitors were analyzed.
These are the results.

RISK OF TYPE 2 DIABETES WITH PROTONIC PUMP INHIBITORS

Analyzing the data, it was found that people who used prazoles regularly had a 24% higher risk of later developing type 2 diabetes.

It was also noted that the people most at risk are those who have been taking proton pump inhibitors for the longest time. Therefore the risk increases proportionally to the duration of use.

What the researchers can’t tell is why this association exists.
Especially taking into account that people who developed diabetes over time were not overweight or had metabolic syndrome problems.

The study is interesting both for the observation time (12 years) and for the width of the sample. Furthermore, as we have seen, it crosses the data of three different and independent studies.

GLUCOSE AND PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS:
CONTRASTING DATA

However, again in 2020 another study had yielded results that seem to contrast with these. In this other study it was in fact found that, in combination with antidiabetic therapies, prazoles helped to keep the patients’ blood sugar under control.

It must be said that in the first case we are talking about non-diabetic patients who subsequently developed type 2 diabetes.
In the second of patients already diabetic and in drug treatment.

However, further investigation will be needed to see if there is a correlation between prazoles and diabetes risk and to understand why.