Monday, May 02, 2011

Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, Unithroid and a New Study Regarding Fracture Risk?

Some senior citizens could face an increased risk for fractures if they ingest excessive doses of drugs used to treat thyroid problems - so says a new study.


You can find the information here: BMJ online. The article's title is:Levothyroxine dose and risk of fractures in older adults: nested case-control study:

From the abstract:

Main outcome measure Primary outcome was fracture (wrist or forearm, shoulder or upper arm, thoracic spine, lumbar spine and pelvis, hip or femur, or lower leg or ankle) in relation to levothyroxine use (current, recent past, remote). Risk among current users was compared between those prescribed high, medium, and low cumulative levothyroxine doses in the year before fracture. 

Results Of 213 511 prevalent levothyroxine users identified, 22 236 (10.4%) experienced a fracture over a mean 3.8 years of follow-up, 18 108 (88%) of whom were women. Compared with remote levothyroxine use, current use was associated with a significantly higher risk of fracture (adjusted odds ratio 1.88, 95% confidence interval 1.71 to 2.05), despite adjustment for numerous risk factors. Among current users, high and medium cumulative doses (>0.093 mg/day and 0.044-0.093 mg/day) were associated with a significantly increased risk of fracture compared with low cumulative doses (<0.044 mg/day): 3.45 (3.27 to 3.65) and 2.62 (2.50 to 2.76), respectively.