Study compares two osteoporosis drugs

A retrospective study of over 33,000 postmenopausal women showed that among patients prescribed one of the two most popular osteoporosis treatments, those taking risedronate sodium were approximately half as likely to sustain a hip fracture as those taking alendronate in the first year of treatment.

These results were published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Osteoporosis International.

"The rapid onset of fracture reduction observed for risedronate in this study is consistent with results from randomized clinical trials of risedronate," said the study’s author, Professor Pierre Delmas of the Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France.

"Earlier fracture protection means that fewer patients will suffer the devastating consequences of an osteoporotic fracture, helping both preserve the patients’ quality of life and reduce the economic burden of healthcare," he said.

The REAL (RisedronatE, ALendronate) retrospective cohort study included 33,830 women treated with once-weekly doses of either risedronate or alendronate in "real-life" clinical practice.

This study adds to the body of evidence from randomized controlled trials demonstrating that risedronate exerts an early onset of fracture protection, seen as early as six months for clinical vertebral fracture and non-vertebral fractures.

No other bisphosphonate treatments for osteoporosis have been shown in clinical trials to reduce clinical fractures this early for patients.

"In the osteoporosis field, it is unlikely that prospective, head-to-head clinical fracture trials will be conducted due to the large number of patients required to show a difference between two effective therapies," said Delmas.

"Large, comparative, retrospective analyses, like the REAL study, are one way to fill the knowledge gap and should be considered in the total body of evidence for a drug to optimize treatment decisions and enhance patient care," he added.

Currently, 1.6 million hip fractures occur worldwide per year, accounting for approximately 104 billion euros in worldwide annual healthcare costs.

Among those patients who suffer a hip fracture, approximately one in five will die within the following year, and 40 percent will be unable to walk independently one year later.