--- title: Dementia in Seniors Possibly Linked to Heartburn Drug description: A study showed that seniors who used heartburn drugs such as Nexium or Prilosec had a higher risk of dementia. canonical: https://time.com/4225830/heartburn-dementia-seniors/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-16T16:53:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:06:57.295Z article:section: Health og:title: Heartburn Drugs May Be Linked to Dementia in Seniors og:description: The study followed instances, not a cause-and-effect relationship of the drugs and dementia og:url: https://time.com/4225830/heartburn-dementia-seniors/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87db7512fd07fcd8/69887dca5f570f7188b1fa9c/heartburn-medicine-dementia-seniors-nexium-prilosec.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3936 og:image:height: 2214 og:image:alt: AstraZeneca Plc Is Tougher Pfizer Inc. Target as Possible Bid Looms og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Heartburn Drugs May Be Linked to Dementia in Seniors twitter:description: The study followed instances, not a cause-and-effect relationship of the drugs and dementia twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87db7512fd07fcd8/69887dca5f570f7188b1fa9c/heartburn-medicine-dementia-seniors-nexium-prilosec.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Heartburn Drugs May Be Linked to Dementia in Seniors > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9287b7f2-afc7-4b0f-a52c-79a724adc610&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Claire Groden / Fortune](https://time.com/author/fortune/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Fortune Feb 16, 2016 4:53 PM UTC  Bottles of AstraZeneca Plc's Nexium heartburn medication are arranged for a photograph at a pharmacy in Princeton, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. Bottles of AstraZeneca Plc's Nexium heartburn medication are arranged for a photograph at a pharmacy in Princeton, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. Daniel Acker—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Claire Groden / Fortune](https://time.com/author/fortune/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Fortune Feb 16, 2016 4:53 PM UTC A popular group of heartburn drugs may be linked to dementia in seniors. A German study published in the medical journal [_JAMA Neurology_](http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2487379) found that seniors who regularly took proton-pump inhibitors like Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid were 44% more likely to end up with dementia. Proton-pump inhibitors, commonly used to decrease acid in the stomach, are used by more than 15 million people, [according to NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/02/15/465279217/popular-heartburn-pills-can-be-hard-to-stop-and-may-be-risky). The study followed more than 73,000 elderly participants to track their use of the drug class and incidence of dementia, so it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Prilosec is made by Procter & Gamble, AstraZeneca makes Nexium, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals makes Prevacid. In an editorial accompanying the study’s publication this week, University of Pittsburgh’s Lewis Kuller wrote: “Whether PPIs actually cause an increase in the risk of dementia is therefore an important question requiring further evaluation … This is a very important issue given the very high prevalence of pharmacological drugs’ long-term use in elderly populations that have a very high risk of dementia.” The study builds off previous findings that the drugs might increase the risk of heart disease and chronic kidney disease, NPR reported. P&G said in a statement that Prilosec is a “safe and effective” treatment for heartburn, and that patients should discuss any concerns with their doctors. _Fortune_ has reached out to AstraZeneca and Takeda for comment and will update this story if they respond. _This_ [_article_](http://fortune.com/2016/02/16/heartburn-drugs-dementia/) _originally appeared on_ [_Fortune.com_](http://www.fortune.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4225830/heartburn-dementia-seniors/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4225830/heartburn-dementia-seniors/"},"headline":"Heartburn Drugs May Be Linked to Dementia in Seniors","datePublished":"2016-02-16T16:53:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:06:57.295Z","description":"The study followed instances, not a cause-and-effect relationship of the drugs and dementia","url":"https://time.com/4225830/heartburn-dementia-seniors/","keywords":["medicine","study","Dementia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87db7512fd07fcd8/69887dca5f570f7188b1fa9c/heartburn-medicine-dementia-seniors-nexium-prilosec.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Groden / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87db7512fd07fcd8/69887dca5f570f7188b1fa9c/heartburn-medicine-dementia-seniors-nexium-prilosec.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AstraZeneca Plc Is Tougher Pfizer Inc. 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