GLP-1 agonists may be protective against hip fracture in patients with type 2 diabetes
Key takeaways:
- Patients on GLP-1s for type 2 diabetes had a lower incidence of hip fracture vs. those on other antidiabetic drugs.
- Femoral neck fracture incidence was lower in the GLP-1 group vs. other antidiabetic drugs.
SAN DIEGO — GLP-1 agonists may be protective against hip fracture when administered for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, according to results presented here.
“This study supports other studies showing that GLP-1s can have a positive effect on bone mineral density by showing that patients that are treated with these have a lower incidence of hip fracture,” John C. Hagedorn II, MD, FAAOS, orthopedic trauma surgeon at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, told Healio.
Using the TriNetX database, Hagedorn and colleagues categorized patients aged 65 years or older based on whether they received GLP-1 agonists (n = 37,099) or any other antidiabetic drugs (n = 37,013). Outcomes measured included subtrochanteric, pertrochanteric and intertrochanteric femur fractures, as well as femoral neck fractures.
Hagedorn said patients who received GLP-1s for the treatment of type 2 diabetes had a lower incidence of subtrochanteric, pertrochanteric and intertrochanteric hip fractures vs. those who received other types of antidiabetic drugs.
The incidence of femoral neck fracture was also lower in the GLP-1 group vs. those taking other antidiabetic drugs.
“This is the starting block for looking at this newer line of agonist and antagonist drugs that people take for a multitude of conditions to see what effects they can have on orthopedic patients and the outcomes we are tracking,” Hagedorn said.
He added, “In the future, with this data, we are looking to apply and get different grants for local, as well as interdepartment or interhospital, research efforts to look at the effect of these drugs on hip fractures.”
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Hagedorn II JC, et al. Paper 20. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 10-14, 2025; San Diego.