WEDNESDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Fracture risk is significantly lower in women who adhere to bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis compared to those who do not, according to a study published in the August issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Ethel S. Siris, M.D., of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues studied 35,537 women aged 45 and older who received bisphosphonate prescriptions and followed them for two years.
The researchers found that 43 percent of the subjects were refill compliant and that 20 percent persistently took their medications. The investigators found that such subjects had a relative risk reduction of 20 percent to 45 percent for total, vertebral, non-vertebral and hip fractures. They also found that fracture risk reduction started at a refill compliance rate of 50 percent and progressively improved as rates reached 75 percent or more.
"Although the low adherence rates with osteoporosis therapies and associated risks of fracture are troubling, improved outcomes may be obtained with marginal increases in adherence," conclude the authors of an accompanying editorial. "The addition of new medications for osteoporosis with more convenient dosing schedules may help to improve adherence. The development of interventions that can be used by the practicing physician to engage patients in the treatment of their disease may also be beneficial."
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