Nexium, or esomeprazole, is a drug used to reduce acid in the stomach. It comes in both prescription and over-the-counter versions.

Along with other medications that suppress stomach acid, Nexium is a type of drug known as a proton pump inhibitor, or PPI.

These drugs reduce the symptoms of heartburn by reducing the amount of stomach acid the body produces.

These drugs are in wide use. Over 15 million U.S. patients used PPIs in 2013, and one study of drug sales found that sales of Nexium reached $5.9 billion in 2014.

Study Suggests Nexium Kidney Disease May Be Chronic

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in January 2016 concluded that persons who use PPIs like Nexium may have a 20 to 50 percent greater risk of developing chronic kidney disease compared to others who didn’t use PPIs.

It is assumed the potential for Nexium kidney disease is increased the more the PPI is used.

Researchers analyzed the medical records of over 10,000 persons taking part in a study on a separate cardiovascular condition.

They also combed through data from over 250,000 patients from a Pennsylvania health care system.

The researchers discovered that PPI users were more likely to develop chronic kidney disease over a period of 10 years.

While the study did not confirm a cause-and-effect relationship, researchers noted that the risk of kidney disease tended to increase as the dosage increased.

Persons who used PPIs twice daily had a 46 percent greater risk of chronic kidney disease, compared to the 15 percent increase faced by patients who took PPIs only once a day.

The new study’s authors also suggest that as popular as Nexium and other PPIs are, they may be overprescribed.

Prescription-strength Nexium is approved by the FDA as a treatment for actual, diagnosable digestive conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease or peptic ulcer disease.

But the researchers estimate that as many as 70 percent of prescriptions for PPIs could be inappropriate. They say that as many as 25 percent of persons taking these drugs over the long term could stop taking them without experiencing a recurrence of symptoms.

Chronic kidney disease is a condition in which the kidneys lose their ability to filter wastes from the blood. As it progresses, it can lead to kidney failure, possibly requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Newer studies like this one have begun to show that Nexium kidney disease may have longer-term effects on the kidneys than previously realized.

Earlier studies had shown a connection between PPIs like Nexium and more acute conditions like acute kidney injury and acute interstitial nephritis.

One Nexium kidney disease study published in April 2015 showed that persons who took PPIs like Nexium had more than twice the risk of being hospitalized for acute kidney injury.

Nexium kidney disease is not the only side effect potentially associated with this drug.

A study by German scientists published in February 2016 found that patients who regularly took PPIs had a 44 percent increased risk of developing dementia compared to others who did not take PPIs.

Other research suggests PPIs may be linked to an increased likelihood of bone fractures, prompting a warning issued by the FDA in 2011.