Osteoporosis Medication Risk

Women taking bisphosphonates may have increased risk for femoral shaft fractures.
The New York Times (3/6, Brody) reported that a study published in the Feb. 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found a link between bisphosphonates and atypical femur fractures. The researchers looked at treatment and fracture data for "205,466 women 68 years-old or older who had been treated with a bisphosphonate" and compared each case of those who had suffered subtrochanteric or femoral shaft fractures with "up to five other women the same age who had been free of this injury." Those who had taken the drugs for five years or longer were "more than twice as likely to have had such a fracture as those who took them only briefly."