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Young Individuals, Women Show Heightened Fracture Risk with Corticosteroids
Young people and women were found to have an increased risk, the study said. “This study emphasizes that using topical corticosteroids to treat inflammatory skin conditions should be done very carefully and clinicians should be aware of these potential side effects,” said corresponding author Chia-Yu Chu, of National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine.‘Extended steroid cream use linked to potential bone weakening and bone fractures. #osteoporosis #steroidcreams ’
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For the study, the team selected 129,682 osteoporosis cases and 34,999 major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) cases and matched them with 518,728 and 139,996 controls (without osteoporosis or MOF) by sex and age. The results showed clear dose-response relationships between long-term use of topical corticosteroids and osteoporosis and MOF. For example, compared with no doses, low, medium, and high cumulative doses of topical corticosteroids were associated with 1.22-, 1.26-, and 1.34-times higher odds of developing osteoporosis over five years.
These respective doses were linked with 1.12-, 1.19-, and 1.29-times higher odds of experiencing MOF. Women had higher risks of osteoporosis and MOF than men. Also, younger people (below 50 years) had a higher risk of osteoporosis compared with other age groups.
Reference:
- Higher cumulative dose of topical corticosteroids is associated with osteoporosis and major osteoporotic fracture - (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jdv.19697)