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Bisphosphonate therapy improved fracture risk, mortality outcomes
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The risk for subsequent fractures and mortality outcomes were improved with oral bisphosphonate therapy, according to recent study findings presented at The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting.
Tineke van Geel, PhD, of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and colleagues evaluated 5,011 adults older than 50 years with a sustained clinical fracture who attended the Glasgow Fracture Liaison between 1999 and 2007 to determine the effect of oral bisphosphonate therapy on subsequent fracture and mortality during 8-years of follow-up. Half of the participants were prescribed oral bisphosphonates and all received calcium and vitamin D.
Participants prescribed bisphosphonates had a greater subsequent fracture risk (13.3%) compared with those on calcium and vitamin D alone (11.8%; P = .126). Absolute mortality risk also was higher among participants prescribed bisphosphonates (15%) compared with the others (9.5%; P < .001).
After adjustment for age, sex, bone mineral density, fracture location, alcohol, glucocorticoid use and smoking, participants prescribed bisphosphonates had a lower risk for subsequent fracture (HR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.48-0.73) and a lower risk for mortality (HR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64-0.96).
“Amongst patients, fully assessed after a fragility fracture, those with higher fracture risk and prescribed bisphosphonates had worse baseline characteristics,” the researchers wrote. “After adjusting for these differences, those prescribed bisphosphonate treatment had a substantially lower hazard for subsequent fragility fracture (0.59) and lower hazard (0.79) for mortality. These long-term community-based data indicate a clear benefit of bisphosphonate therapy for both subsequent fracture and mortality outcomes.” – by Amber Cox
Reference:
van Geel T, et al. Abstract LB-1157. Presented at: The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting; Oct. 9-12, 2015; Seattle.
Disclosure: van Geel reports no relevant financial disclosures.