Xie Y, et al. - In this longitudinal, observational, cohort study, researchers estimated all-cause and cause-specific mortality among patients from the US Department of Veterans Affairs who were taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). They examined 157,625 and 56,842 new users of PPIs or H2 blockers, respectively, and reported values per 1,000 patients receiving PPIs; there were 45.20 excess deaths (95% CI: 28.20-61.40). In all, a small excess of cause-specific mortality, including death because of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and upper gastrointestinal cancer, in relation to taking PPIs, was reported. In patients with no indication for PPI use, the burden was still evident. Overall, the authors concluded that increased vigilance regarding the PPI use may be warranted.