Drugs for heartburn, gastric reflux, or peptic ulcers can potentially increase dementia risk. A German study found that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) manufactured by the companies Novartis and AstraZeneca could have adverse side effects. “The researchers examined medical records from 2004 through 2011 from more than 73,000 patients age 75 and older, mostly women. They classified 2,950 of those patients as regular PPI users, meaning they had at least one prescription for one of the drugs every four or five months over an 18-month period. During the study period, 29,510 people developed dementia. Regular PPI users were 44 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who were not receiving the drugs.” This study only provided “statistical association” between these drugs and dementia and has not yet been proven.