Antiprotozoal drug exposure and reduced long-term mortality and morbidity: a multi-cohort pharmacoepidemiologic study
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University
- 2Leumit Research Institute, Leumit Health Services
- 3Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, Felsenstein Medical Research Center, and Sagol School of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University
- 4Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 5Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University
- 6Department of Infectious Diseases, Schneider Children’s Medical Center
- 7Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
- 8Department of Family Medicine, Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University
- 9Medicine A Department, Assuta Ashdod University Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Abstract
Introduction: Medications may affect age-related morbidity and overall survival beyond their original indications. Systematic identification of such effects may inform drug repurposing strategies for healthy aging. We aimed to identify medications associated with longevity and reduced age-related morbidity using large-scale electronic health record data.
Methods: We conducted a stepwise pharmacoepidemiologic investigation in two independent healthcare systems. Using electronic health records from a nationwide health provider, we performed an exploratory medication-wide case-control screen comparing medication exposure during a 10-year window between 14,986 individuals who died before sex-specific median life expectancy and matched controls who survived beyond their life expectancy. Two leading candidate drugs, atovaquone-proguanil and mefloquine, are antiprotozoal agents with activity against Toxoplasma gondii. Their effects on mortality and age-related morbidity were further evaluated within a historical cohort of 3,876 exposed individuals and 77,520 matched controls using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for baseline characteristics. External validation was performed in the United States-based TriNetX network, including cohorts exposed to atovaquone-proguanil (n = 24,498), mefloquine (n = 3,400), and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (n = 124,681), each matched to unexposed controls.
Results: Atovaquone-proguanil and mefloquine, together with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, a protease inhibitor with reported antiprotozoal effects, were associated with consistent reductions in all-cause mortality across cohorts and lower incidence of multiple age-related conditions, including dementia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and selected malignancies. Consistent increases in specific conditions were also observed, including hearing loss, Sjögren’s syndrome/dry eye, and lichen planus, suggesting shared underlying mechanisms, although confounding cannot be excluded.
Discussion: Findings were consistent across healthcare systems and drug classes, including in populations exposed to non-travel-associated medications. While causality cannot be established, these results support further investigation into potential links between chronic protozoal infections and aging-related diseases.
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BibTeX
@article{israel2026antiprotozoal,
title = {{Antiprotozoal drug exposure and reduced long-term mortality and morbidity: a multi-cohort pharmacoepidemiologic study}},
author = {Ariel Israel and Abraham Weizman and Sarah Israel and Shai Ashkenazi and Eytan Ruppin and Shlomo Vinker and Eli Magen and Eugene Merzon},
journal = {Frontiers in Pharmacology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2026.1861376},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1861376/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Antiprotozoal drug exposure and reduced long-term mortality and morbidity: a multi-cohort pharmacoepidemiologic study
AU - Ariel Israel
AU - Abraham Weizman
AU - Sarah Israel
AU - Shai Ashkenazi
AU - Eytan Ruppin
AU - Shlomo Vinker
AU - Eli Magen
AU - Eugene Merzon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Frontiers in Pharmacology
DO - 10.3389/fphar.2026.1861376
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1861376/full
AB - Introduction: Medications may affect age-related morbidity and overall survival beyond their original indications. Systematic identification of such effects may inform drug repurposing strategies for healthy aging. We aimed to identify medications associated with longevity and reduced age-related morbidity using large-scale electronic health record data. Methods: We conducted a stepwise pharmacoepidemiologic investigation in two independent healthcare systems. Using electronic health records from a nationwide health provider, we performed an exploratory medication-wide case-control screen comparing medication exposure during a 10-year window between 14,986 individuals who died before sex-specific median life expectancy and matched controls who survived beyond their life expectancy. Two leading candidate drugs, atovaquone-proguanil and mefloquine, are antiprotozoal agents with activity against Toxoplasma gondii. Their effects on mortality and age-related morbidity were further evaluated within a historical cohort of 3,876 exposed individuals and 77,520 matched controls using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for baseline characteristics. External validation was performed in the United States-based TriNetX network, including cohorts exposed to atovaquone-proguanil (n = 24,498), mefloquine (n = 3,400), and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (n = 124,681), each matched to unexposed controls. Results: Atovaquone-proguanil and mefloquine, together with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, a protease inhibitor with reported antiprotozoal effects, were associated with consistent reductions in all-cause mortality across cohorts and lower incidence of multiple age-related conditions, including dementia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and selected malignancies. Consistent increases in specific conditions were also observed, including hearing loss, Sjögren’s syndrome/dry eye, and lichen planus, suggesting shared underlying mechanisms, although confounding cannot be excluded. Discussion: Findings were consistent across healthcare systems and drug classes, including in populations exposed to non-travel-associated medications. While causality cannot be established, these results support further investigation into potential links between chronic protozoal infections and aging-related diseases.
SN - 1663-9812
ER -