Diabetes drug raises bone fracture risk in older women

Women with type 2 diabetes who take a commonly prescribed class of medications to treat insulin resistance may be at a higher risk for developing bone fractures, Henry Ford Hospital study has found.

As per the study's results, after taking a thiazolidinedione (TZD) for one year, women are 50% more likely to have a bone fracture than patients not taking TZDs. And those at the greatest risk for fractures from TZD use are women older than 65.

"Older women are already at a higher risk of osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fractures, which might explain why they appeared to be the most affected by TZDs," says study senior author L Keoki Williams, M.D., MPH, Center for Health Services Research and Department of Internal Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital.

The study appears in this month's issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.