"Fracture reduction is the clinically relevant endpoint for evaluating osteoporosis therapies," said Nelson B. Watts, MD, presenting author and Director, University of Cincinnati Bone Health and Osteoporosis Center. "While only head-to-head clinical trials comparing fracture efficacy can confirm differences in efficacy between osteoporosis therapies, the results for risedronate in this analysis are consistent with the early fracture reduction that has been shown for this agent in clinical trials."
About the Analysis
The retrospective analysis was based on data from a large medical and pharmaceutical managed care claims database. A one-year analysis assessed nonvertebral fracture risk in 5,024 patients who began treatment with risedronate (5 mg daily or 30 mg weekly), alendronate (5/10 mg daily or 35/70 mg weekly) or nasal calcitonin (200 I.U. daily), between July 2000 and June 2001. Nonvertebral fractures were defined as osteoporotic fractures of the clavicle, upper arm, forearm, pelvis, hip and leg.
Patients in the analysis were age 45 and older (93 percent women, mean age 69 years). Patients with prescriptions in the prior six months for a bisphosphonate, nasal calcitonin or raloxifene were excluded. All risk estimates were adjusted for age, sex, estrogen use, prior fragility fractures and a general morbidity indicator (number of concomitant medications).
A six-month analysis was also done involving 7081 patients initiating therapy between July 2000 and December 2001. At six months risedronat
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31-Dec-2000