SynthesisMedicine2016
Alendronate prevents glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in patients with rheumatic diseases: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Meta-regression analysis of the efficacy of alendronate for prevention of glucocorticoid-induced fractures.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Treatment of Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis with Bisphosphonates Alone, Vitamin D Alone or a Combination Treatment in Eastern Asians: A Meta-Analysis.Current pharmaceutical design · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of alendronate for treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Updated Advances on Drugs and Bone-Targeting Nanoparticles for Osteoporosis Therapy: Carrier Materials, Modification, Function Mechanism, and Applications-A Systematic Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Combined application of mesenchymal stem cells and different glucocorticoid dosing alleviates osteoporosis in SLE murine models.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2024Article
- Hormone-Related and Drug-Induced Osteoporosis: A Cellular and Molecular Overview.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Osteoporosis Due to Hormone Imbalance: An Overview of the Effects of Estrogen Deficiency and Glucocorticoid Overuse on Bone Turnover.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Initiation of anti-osteoporotic drugs in high-risk female patients starting glucocorticoid treatment: a population study in Norway.Archives of osteoporosis · 2020Article
- A novel quantitative method for estimating bone mineral density using B-mode ultrasound and radiofrequency signals-a pilot study on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) is a serious problem for patients with rheumatic diseases requiring long-term glucocorticoid treatment. Alendronate, a bisphosphonate, has been recommended in the prevention of GIOP. However, the efficacy and safety of alendronate in preventing GIOP remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy and safety of alendronate in preventing GIOP in patients with rheumatic diseases.We retrieved randomized controlled trials from PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. Two reviewers extracted the data and evaluated the risk of bias and quality of the evidence. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) for dichotomous outcomes, and the mean difference (MD) with a 95% CI for continuous outcomes using Review Manager, version 5.3.A total of 339 studies were found, and 9 studies (1134 patients) were included. Alendronate was not able to reduce the incidence of vertebral fractures (RR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.10-4.04, P = 0.62) and nonvertebral fractures (RR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.15-1.12, P = 0.08). Alendronate significantly increased the percent change in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (MD = 3.66, 95% CI: 2.58-4.74, P < 0.05), total hip (MD = 2.08, 95% CI: 0.41-3.74, P < 0.05), and trochanter (MD = 1.68, 95% CI: 0.75-2.61, P < 0.05). Significant differences were not observed in the percent change in BMD at the femoral neck (MD = -0.33, 95% CI: -2.79 to 2.13, P = 0.79) and total body (MD = 0.64, 95% CI: -0.06 to 1.34, P = 0.07). No significant differences in the adverse events were observed in patients treated with alendronate versus the controls (RR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.94-1.07, P = 0.89). The odds of gastrointestinal adverse events were significantly reduced (RR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.62-0.97, P < 0.05).Our analysis suggests that alendronate can increase the percent change in BMD at the lumbar spine, total hip, and trochanter, and is not associated with an increased incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events; however, the vertebral and nonvertebral fractures cannot be reduced. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the poor statistical power.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.