Findings from an online survey of more than 53,000 Americans suggest that using heartburn medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) once or twice daily significantly increases the odds of a positive test for COVID-19 compared to those who do not take PPIs. This research appears online today in pre-print format in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

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Researchers Christopher V. Almario, MD, MSHPM and Brennan M. R. Spiegel, MD, MSHS, FACG of Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles along with William D. Chey, MD, FACG of the University of Michigan conducted a large population-based, online survey to evaluate whether use of PPIs increases risk of COVID-19.

“We developed this hypothesis at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when we started to see a high incidence of GI symptoms and learned that the virus sheds into saliva, and thus can be swallowed into the stomach. We have now tested the hypothesis in a rigorous study of more than 50,000 Americans and found it to bear out, albeit in an observational study,” commented Dr. Almario.