Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been increasingly used over the last decades and there are concerns about overuse and the numerous reported side-effects. It is uncertain whether associations between PPI use and potential side effects are causal. However, important evidence from experimental and mechanistic studies that could support a causal relationship may have been underestimated by epidemiologists and meta-analysists. In the current manuscript we review the combined epidemiological and mechanistic evidence of the adverse effects of PPI use.
Keywords: adverse effects; fracture risk; gastric cancer; gastrin; liver disease; proton pump inhibitors; renal disease.