ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Proton pump inhibitor use and risk of depression among Sudanese adults: a cross-sectional community-based study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qassim University College of Medicine, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
- 2University of Gadarif Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Al Qadarif, Sudan
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Background: Depression is a major global public health issue. There is little available data regarding the association between the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and depression. The current study aimed to investigate the association between PPIs and depression among adults in Central Sudan. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to examine adults in Central Sudan. Sociodemographic data and medical history were collected. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Multivariate binary regression analyses, modified Poisson regression analyses, and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed. Results: We enrolled 914 adults (317 [34.7%] men and 597 [65.3%] women). Participants' median (interquartile range) age was 38.0 (27.0‒52.0) years. Of the participants, 255 (27.9%) had used PPIs. In Poisson regression, after adjusting for confounders (age, sex, education, occupation, marital status, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, smoking, alcohol), use of PPIs [adjusted relative risk = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.21‒1.40] was associated with a higher depression score. Of 914 adults, 155 (17.0%) had depression (PHQ-9 score of ≥ 8). Before matching (PSM), in multivariate binary regression (after removing confounders), PPIs were associated with depression [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)= 1.64; 95% CI = 1.14‒2.37]. After matching, PPIs were associated with depression (AOR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.13‒2.41). Conclusion: This study revealed a positive association between PPI use and depression. Longitudinal studies will be necessary to examine this relationship in more depth.
Keywords: Adult, age, Depression, Patient health questionnaire-9, Proton Pump Inhibitors
Received: 20 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alwabili, Idris, Alotaibi and Adam. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Afnan Alwabili
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