SynthesisScience progress
Does alendronate enhance survival rates in osteoporosis patients? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Science progress. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential of Puerariae Lobatae Radix in Bone Metabolism: A Comprehensive Review.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
ObjectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate whether alendronate therapy improves survival rates in patients with osteoporosis, in addition to its known benefits in reducing fracture risk.MethodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted across Embase, Web of Science, Medline, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials involving alendronate therapy in osteoporosis patients. The primary outcome was overall survival. Data were extracted and analyzed using fixed-effects or random-effects models based on heterogeneity. The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach, and publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots.ResultsA total of 13 randomized controlled trials, involving 15,560 participants, were included in the meta-analysis. Alendronate treatment did not significantly improve survival rates in osteoporosis patients (RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01). Subgroup analyses, including studies focusing on postmenopausal women and trials lasting three years or more, also showed no significant association between alendronate treatment and survival rates. The studies included in this analysis exhibited low heterogeneity, and no significant publication bias was detected.ConclusionsThe findings of this meta-analysis suggest that alendronate therapy does not enhance survival rates in osteoporosis patients, despite its effectiveness in reducing fracture risk. Therefore, the primary focus of osteoporosis treatment should remain on fracture prevention.PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251034567.
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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.