Blockers of angiotensin other than olmesartan in patients with villous atrophy: A nationwide case-control study

Objective To examine the association between the previous use of nonolmesartan angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) or any angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and subsequent villous atrophy (VA) in patients with small-intestinal VA as compared with general population-matched controls. Patients and Methods A case-control study was used to link nationwide histopathology data on 2933 individuals with VA (Marsh grade 3) to the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register to examine the association between the use of ACEIs as well as the specific use of ARBs other than olmesartan and subsequent VA. Olmesartan is not available in Sweden, so this exposure was not examined. All individuals with VA had biopsies performed between July 1, 2005, and January 29, 2008, and matched on age, sex, calendar period of birth, and county of residence to 14,571 controls from the general population. Results Use of nonolmesartan ARBs was not associated with VA (odds ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.64-1.09; P=.19). Neither was VA associated with a previous medication of any ACEI (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.90-1.30; P=.41). Restricting the analysis to individuals with repeated prescriptions for ACEIs or ARBs revealed only marginally changed risk estimates for VA. Conclusion The lack of association between the use of ACEIs and nonolmesartan ARBs and subsequent VA suggests that these medications are not a major risk factor for the development of VA in the general population.