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Diabetes Drugs Could Mean More Broken Bones
(April 30, 2008) - A widely used class of diabetes (Read about "Diabetes") medications seems to make it more likely that people will break a bone. (Read about "Bone Fractures") The drugs appear to be associated with an increased risk for fractures, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"The insulin-sensitizing thiazolidinediones are a relatively new and effective class of oral antidiabetic agents that have gained wide use in clinical conditions characterized by insulin resistance," the authors write as background information in the article. Two drugs in this category, pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, account for 21 percent of oral diabetes medications prescribed in the United States and 5 percent of those in Europe. Recent studies have suggested that these therapies may have unfavorable effects on bone, resulting in slower bone formation and faster bone loss. (Read about "Skeletal System")
Researchers studied 1,020 patients with diabetes who had fractures diagnosed at general practitioners' offices over a decade. For each of those patients, up to four control patients with diabetes who were the same age and sex and had the same physician but did not have fractures were selected, for a total of 3,728 matched controls.
After adjusting for other risk factors, individuals who were currently taking rosiglitazone and pioglitazone had approximately double or triple the odds of hip and other non-spine fractures than those who did not take these drugs. The odds for fracture were increased among patients who took the drugs for approximately 12 to 18 months and the risk was highest for those with two or more years of therapy.
Note: Statements and conclusions of study authors that are published here are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect this hospital's policy or position. This hospital makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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