Inpharma 1564 - 18 Nov 2006

■ Thiazide diuretics and β-blockers may lower therisk of fractures, according to researchers from Canadaand Spain. Their meta-analysis involved 54 case-control or cohort studies that assessed fractureoutcomes in patients receiving antihypertensives or nosuch treatment; the studies evaluated β-blockers (8studies), ACE inhibitors (1), α-blockers (2), calciumchannel blockers (1) or diuretics (38). Significantlylower pooled relative risks of fracture were observedwith thiazide diuretics (25 studies; relative risk 0.86;95% CI 0.81, 0.92) and β-blockers (0.86; 0.76, 0.98);ACE inhibitors also had a protective effect (0.81; 0.73,0.89), although only one study was analysed.Interestingly, calcium channel blockers wereassociated with an increased risk of femoral neckfracture (1.96; 1.16, 3.30).Wiens M, et al. Effects of antihypertensive drug treatments on fractureoutcomes: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Journal of InternalMedicine 260: 350-362, No. 4, Oct 2006 801053101

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Inpharma 18 Nov 2006 No. 15641173-8324/10/1564-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved