HISTAMINE-H2 BLOCKING-DRUGS AND THE RISK FOR ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - THEROTTERDAM STUDY

We investigated the cross-sectional relation of the use of histamine H 2 blocking drugs and the risk for AD in the population-based Rotterdam Study. AD was clinically diagnosed according to DSM-IIIR and NINCDS-A DRDA criteria. Data on medication used in the past week were obtained by having subjects show vials of medications and were classified accor ding to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) index. There were 72 76 subjects with complete data, including 208 with AD and 378 H2 users (ATC code A0BA). Compared to the total cohort of non-H2 users, the re lative risk (estimated as the odds ratio) for AD among those taking H2 blockers was 0.95 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.52-1.75), after con trolling for age, education, sex, history of stroke, and use of benzod iazepines and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. To address unmeasur ed confounding (by (contra) indication), we compared the risk of AD in H2 users with a subset of subjects using topical medications (ATC cod e D and S; n = 436). The adjusted OR in this comparison was 1.24 (95% CI 0.52-2.98). These results do not support the hypothesis that use of histamine H2 blocking drugs protect against AD. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sci ence Inc.