How do younger patients view long-term treatment with proton pump inhibitors?

Dyspepsia (also called indigestion or heartburn) is a common reason for consulting a general practitioner (GP). One of the medicines available for treating dyspepsia is a type of acid suppressant called a proton pump inhibitor or PPI. There is a growing concern over the rapid increase in prescribing PPI drugs and the escalating costs associated with this trend. There has been an effort to reduce prescribing of PPIs. Most patients who are prescribed these drugs are aged over 45 years. Younger patients (those under 45) are a minority but, in absolute terms, a sizeable number who could potentially be taking PPIs for many years and therefore be expensive. This is a group for whom the appropriateness of prescribing PPIs is often questioned because of the everyday and non-life threatening nature of gastric disorders. A widespread association between dyspeptic symptoms and features of adverse lifestyle that are, at least in principle, easily avoidable has led to the suggestion that PPIs might be used to support unhealthy lifestyles. The perspective of younger patients taking PPIs in the long term has been neglected. In this paper the accounts of ten younger respondents, from a large qualitative investigation of patient and GP perspectives on long-term PPI prescribing, are examined to gain insight into how younger patients viewed their stomach problem, the effectiveness of PPIs and long-term PPI taking. The findings showed a gap between patient experience and medical perception. The perspectives of younger patients need to be recognised in order to deal adequately with their concerns about illness and treat their gastrointestinal conditions effectively.