Oral Antacid Use Is Negatively Associated with Serum Prealbumin Levels in Japanese Individuals Undergoing Health...

The aim of this study is to investigate the association between physical and chemical digestion and nutrition markers (serum albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PAB), and vitamin B₁₂ (B₁₂) levels).

During a detailed checkup at Fujita Health University, we examined the associations of physical (occlusal force, masticatory performance, and swallowing ability (via the 10-item Eating Assessment Tool, EAT-10)) and chemical (Helicobacter pylori (HP) eradication history, HP antibody levels, and oral antacid (proton pump inhibitors) use) digestion parameters with serum ALB, PAB, and B₁₂ levels in 92 individuals (M:67, F:25).

Forty-eight percent of the participants were older than 65 years of age, 19% had decreased occlusal force, 3.2% had decreased masticatory strength, 3.2% had decreased swallowing function, 24% had a history of HP eradication, 23% were HP antibody positive, and 16% were taking oral antacid medication. Additionally, 14% and 11% of the patients had low serum ALB and PAB levels, respectively, and 14% of the patients had B₁₂ deficiency. Multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, and C-reactive protein levels revealed that there were no significant associations between the physical digestion parameters and the serum PAB, ALB, or B₁₂ levels. On the other hand, there was a significant association between oral antacid use and PAB levels (β = -3.3, p = 0.04). Independent of physical or chemical digestion parameters, serum PAB and B₁₂ levels were significantly associated with protein and B₁₂ intake, respectively.

Oral antacid use may decrease serum PAB levels, indicating protein synthesis.