Study Finds Potential Link Between Infant Accident-Suppressants and Celiac Disease

Tel Aviv University-Led Research has Found That Infants Prescription Acid-Subpressive Medications During the First Six Months Of Life Had An Increarse Risk of Development Celiac Disease Autoimmunity Under Right Study Conditions.

Associations Were Present in A Cohort Study of More Than 79,000 Children, Yet Did Not Appear in A Separate Test-Negative Case-Control Analysis. Findings Fail to ANSWER QUESTIONS About WHETHER AN OBSERABLE Relationship Exists.

Infant Use of accident-supressive therapy, Including Proton-Pump Inhibitors and Histamine-2 Antagonist Receiver, Such Asprazole (Prilosec) and Ranitidine (Zantac), Has Been Increasing Worldwide in Recent Years. Observational Studies Found an Association Between Early-Life Use of These Medications and Long-Term Adverse Effects, Including Fractures and Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is an immeli -mediated enteropathy in Which an aberrant imamune response to gluten damages the small -intestinal lining, leading to increueded mucosal permeability and chronic immeli activation. Prevalence and Incidence Have Increaded in Most Countries During Recent Decades, for Both Seropositionive Celiac Disease Autoimmunity and Biopsy-Confmed Celiac Disease.

Known Mechanisms Suggest that accident-suppressive therapy coull contribute to celiac disregting by disrupting protein digestion and altering gut microbiota.

In the Study, “Early-Life Exposure to Accident-Suppressive Therapy and the Development of Celiac Disease Autoimmunity,” published in Jama Network OpenResearchers Drive Retrospective Analyses Using Population-Level Date to Assess the Association Between-Life Use of SupPressive Therapy and the Risk of Celiac Disease Autoimmunity.

Researchers Used Two Retrospective Observational Designs: Matched Cohort Study and Test-Negative Case-Control Design. Both Analyses Relied on Population-Level Data from Maccabi Healthcare Services, Which Covers More Than A Quarter of the Israeli Population. Data Were Drawn from Children Born Beteen 2005 and 2020 Who Remained Enrolled in the System Through The First Six Months Of Life.

The Total of 79,820 Children Were included in the Matched Cohort Study. Of These, 19,955 Had Used accident-supressive therapy, either omeprazole (Prilosec) or Ranitidine (Zantac), Within the First Six Months After Birth. EACH EXPOSED CHILD WAS MATCHED WITH UP TO THREE NAN-EXPOSED CHILDREN. FOLLOW-UP CONTINUED UTIL THE AGE OF 10, THE CHILD’S EXIT FROM THE HEALTH SYSTEM, OR DIAGNOSIS OF CELIAC DISEASE AUTOIMMUNITY.

In the Cohort Study, 1.6% of Children Who Used Accident-Suppressive Therapy Developed Celiac Disease AutoimMunity, Compred to 1.0% of thhose who did not. Accident-Suppressive Therapy Users Had An Adjustd Hazard Ratio of 1.52 for Development The Condition. The Stronger Association Was Observed in Children Who Used Accident-Suppressive Therapy For More Than One Month. The Adjustped Hazard Ratio for Prolonged Use Was 1.65.

Researchers Also Analyzed Data From From Test-Negative Case-Control Group of 24,684 Children who have Been Tested for Celiac Disease Autoimmunity. Among Those Who Testad Positive, 5.0% Had Used Accident-Suppressive Therapy. Among Those Who Testad Negative, 4.6% Had Used the Medication. The Adjusted Odds Ratio for This Group Was 1.07, Which Was Not Statistically Significant.

In the Cohort Study, accident-supressive therapy was significantly associated with celiac disease autoimmunity. In contrast, in the Significant Association Was Observed in the Test-Negative Case-Control Analysis.

While the Authors Note That the Cohort Design May Have Reflected Residual ConfOUNDING ASSOCIATED WITH THE LIKELOOD OF BEING TESTD, They WERE NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM THIS. The Findings Highlight the Complexity of Drawing Conclusion From Observational Data Alone.

© 2025 Science x Network