(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research shows gastric acid-suppressing medications may be to blame for a significant rise in cases in the community of an infection associated with diarrhea.

Clostridium difficile infection is most commonly associated with diarrhea acquired by hospitalized patients. Recently, though, doctors began to notice the same infection has been found in increasing numbers in the community. Researchers from McGill University in Montreal suggest certain medications may be to blame.

Stomach acid is the body's defense against harmful pathogens. When the amount of acid in the stomach is reduced, the chance for colonization by harmful agents increases. Researchers, therefore, believe there could be a connection between the use of gastric acid-suppressing agents, which are used to heal ulcers, and the rise in the infection in the community.

Sandra Dial, M.D., M.Sc., and colleagues performed two population-based studies to determine whether a link exists. They found between 1994 and 2004, the number of cases of Clostridium difficile went from one case per 100,000 people to 22 cases per 100,000 people. This rise was found to be associated with an increase in people taking gastric-suppressing agents such as proton-pump inhibitors.

Researchers say these findings coincide with the findings of four other case-controlled studies that showed an association between proton pump inhibitor use and C difficile-associated disease in hospitalized patients or institutionalized patients.

Additionally, investigators discovered a potential link between the infection and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They suggest this connection needs to be examined further.

Due to the rising number of outbreaks of CDAD in both the United States and Canada, Dr. Dial says CDAD should be considered an important public health concern. She also notes the connection between the infection and these medications needs to be more completely characterized.

SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005;294:2989-2995