Diabetes and weight loss are associated with an increased risk of fragility fractures, which can be associated with substantial morbidity and mortality.In this retrospective study of adults with type 2 diabetes, those starting a GLP-1 drug had a 21% lower risk of fragility fractures over 3 years compared with initiators of a DPP-4 inhibitor.The lower fracture risk associated with GLP-1 drugs was independent of changes in body mass index.
Starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist for type 2 diabetes was associated with a lower risk of fragility fractures in adults 50 and older, including hip and vertebral fractures, according to a large target trial emulation study.
Over 3 years, new users of GLP-1 drugs had a 21% lower risk of fragility fractures compared with new initiators of DPP-4 inhibitors (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.76-0.83), reported Christopher Hamad, MD, of the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues.
"Although the absolute risk reduction at 3 years was modest (0.79%), this magnitude is clinically relevant given a baseline 3-year major osteoporotic fracture risk of approximately 3% to 4% in comparable populations and the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with hip and vertebral fractures," the authors wrote in JAMA Network Open.
