Some diabetes drugs linked to fractures

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 31 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says post-menopausal women taking some diabetes drugs may be at greater risk of bone fractures.

Dr. William Herman of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor says postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes taking a group of drugs called thiazolidinediones -- including rosiglitazone and pioglitazone -- may significantly increase their risk of fractures.

Herman is senior author of study that shows greater fracture risk with both rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. This suggests, he says, a class effect of thiazolidinediones.

"Physicians should be aware of this risk and weigh the benefits and risks of therapy when they initially prescribe or renew prescriptions for thiazolidinediones," Herman said in a statement.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, also finds men with diabetes who take both loop diuretics and thiazolidinediones may be at increased risk of fractures. Interestingly in men, Herman says, neither loop diuretics nor thiazolidinediones alone affect fracture risks significantly.

Herman and colleagues base their findings on a matched case-control study of 786 cases of fractures and 2,657 matched controls -- diabetes patients without fractures -- using data from a multicenter prospective observational study of diabetes patients in managed care.