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Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are a group of drugs that help in addressing hyperacidity and heartburn. But recently, they were linked with greater risks for chronic kidney disease, say researchers from John Hopkins University.

What is the relationship between proton pump inhibitors and chronic kidney disease? To find out, the researchers gathered information from two sources.

The first one was data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) especially the contributors' use of drugs. Their study involved 10,482 participants, studied for about 14 years.

The next stage was taking outpatient prescription data in Pennsylvania for proton pump inhibitors at the Geisinger Health System, where the patients were studied for about six years.

The proton pump inhibitor users in the first group were found to have an 11.8 percent increased risk for chronic kidney disease, even as those who did not use drugs showed an 8.5 percent increased risk.

Those who took proton pump inhibitors in the second group showed a 15.6 percent increased risk for the disease while those who didn't take the heartburn drugs showed a 13.9 percent risk.

"We note that our study is observational and does not provide evidence of causality. However, a causal relationship between PPI use and CKD could have a considerable public health effect given the widespread extent of use," the researchers wrote in a press release.

Further studies need to be conducted in order to detect the cause and effect relationship between proton pump inhibitors and kidney damage.

The study was published online Jan.11,2016 in JAMA Internal Medicine.