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Diuretics May Prevent Hip Fractures
Sept. 16, 2003 -- An inexpensive drug commonly used to fight high blood pressure may also fight another common health problem faced by older people -- hip fractures.
A new study shows people over 55 who took thiazide diuretics for a year or more had about a 50% lower risk of suffering a potentially debilitating hip fracture than those who never took diuretics.
Thiazide diuretics are often used to treat high blood pressure, but researchers say they may also protect against age-related bone loss by reducing the amount of calcium expelled in urine.
Most hip fractures are a result of the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. Researchers say the findings suggest that long-term treatment with diuretics may help in preventing the accelerated bone loss associated with osteoporosis.
Drugs May Slow Bone Loss
In the study, published in the Sept. 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers followed 7,891 men and women over age 55 in the Netherlands for eight to nine years.
By the end of the study, 281 hip fractures had occurred. Researchers then compared the number of hip fractures among people who had taken thiazide diuretics and those who had not been prescribed the drugs and how long they were treated with thiazide diuretics.
The study showed that people who had used thiazide diuretics for a year or more were about half as likely to suffer a hip fracture than those who had never used them. The protective benefits of thiazide diuretics disappeared within four months after patients stopped taking the drugs.
Researcher Marieta W.C.J. Schoofs, MD, MSc, of Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues say more research is needed to determine whether the effects of thiazide diuretics are similar to or enhance those of other drugs used to prevent hip fractures.
Thiazide diuretics are inexpensive and have few side effects. Researchers say the drugs are often recommended as the first line of treatment for high blood pressure, but prescription rates for the drugs have decreased in recent years as other anti-hypertensive medications have entered the market.
High blood pressure is a common medical problem that often requires long-term treatment, and researchers say their findings suggest that using thiazide diuretics to treat hypertension in this manner may also have the added benefit of lowering the risk of hip fracture.
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VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
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