Heartburn medications linked to asthma

Antacids may raise asthma risk

The children of mothers who took acid-suppressive drugs during pregnancy had a 1.5 times higher incidence of asthma when compared to children who were not exposed to the drugs before birth, according to a study carried out by researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston.

The study analyzed data from over 585,000 children, born between 1995 and 2004. Overall, about 5,600 (just under 1%) had been exposed to acid suppression therapy during pregnancy, and more than 29,000 (5%) had a discharge diagnosis of allergy or prescriptions for allergy medications by 2006. Maternal use of acid-suppressive medicines was associated with a 43% greater likelihood that a child would be hospitalized or receive prescriptions for allergic conditions. Asthma was the most commonly reported condition; maternal use of acid-suppressive medications increased its likelihood by 51%.

The team then repeated their analyses to factor in maternal history of allergy, a known strong risk factor for allergy in children. “We found that if a mother is allergic, antacids don’t seem to increase the risk of allergies significantly, because the risk of her child having allergies is already very high,” says lead author Edda Fiebiger, PhD. “But if a mother is non-allergic, it does increase the risk.” The increase in childhood allergic disease associated with acid-suppressive drugs was 43% when the mother was non-allergic, versus 25% for children of allergic mothers.

Acid-suppressing medications are commonly used for acid reflux, or heartburn. Reflux occurs in up to 85%of pregnancies, as high levels of estrogen are thought to weaken the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing stomach acid to splash up. There have already been studies showing that antacids can make asults more prone to allergies – it’s thought that suppressing stomach acid means that food proteins aren’t broken down sufficnelty and are then recognized as allergens by the immune system.

There are many non-drug ways you can relieve heartburn in pregnancy – try sleeping propped up on pillows, eating small, frequent meals and avoiding caffeine and spicy, fatty foods, which can worsen acid reflux. If your heartburn is severe, talk to your OB-GYN or midwife about the benefits and risks of taking antacids to relieve it if dietary modifications are ineffective. 

The study appears in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy, February 2008.

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