Long-term bisphosphonates not helpful for most

Printer-friendly version

A recent post on Our Bodies Our Blog discusses the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s perspective piece on the long-term use of bisphosphonates for reducing bone fracture risk that was just published in the the New England Journal of Medicine. 

The author of the post discusses evidence about the long-term safety of these drugs. She writes that there is “considerable concern and controversy about whether women who do not actually have osteoporosis (or who are classified as having “osteopenia”) should be getting these drugs in an attempt to prevent it.”

Several serious side effects of bisphosphonates have been identified in the past few years, such as osteonecrosis of the jaw (when the jaw bones weaken and die, causing considerable pain) and atypical femur fractures.

The National Women's Health Network recently wrote a letter to the FDA, urging them not to advise the use of bisphosphonates for prevention because of these safety concerns. Their letter concluded, “Healthy women have better, less risky, ways to protect themselves from bone fractures and should not be encouraged to take drugs which could so seriously undermine their goal of maintaining healthy bones.”

Healthy women have better, less risky, ways to protect 

themselves from bone fractures and should not be encouraged to take drugs which could so seriously 

undermine their goal of maintaining healthy bones. 

Read the blog post.