Quick Study
Quick Study
TOOLBOX   Resize Text
 Save/Share +
COMMENT
|
Discussion Policy
CLOSE
DIABETES
A drug that fights the disease may harm bones.
THE QUESTION Studies have shown that people with diabetes face an increased risk for broken bones. Might this be related to the medication they take?
THIS STUDY analyzed data on 4,748 men and women (average age, 61) with Type 2 diabetes, in which the body does not produce enough insulin or use it efficiently to convert glucose into energy, creating sugar levels that are too high. Of this group, 3,778 took oral anti-diabetes drugs, and 1,020 had been treated for a fracture. People who had taken a class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones, commonly prescribed drugs that include Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone), for at least a year were two to three times more likely to have broken a bone, mainly a wrist or hip, than were those who took no oral medication for diabetes. The longer people had taken the drugs, the greater their risk. No added risk was found for other oral anti-diabetes drugs.
WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? People taking medication for Type 2 diabetes, the most common type.
CAVEATS How the drugs might affect younger diabetics was not evaluated. The study suggested but did not prove that the drugs caused loss of bone mass, leading to breaks.
FIND THIS STUDY April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
LEARN MORE ABOUT diabetes at http:/
