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Saturday, October 02, 2004The team looked at data on 30,601 patients aged 30 to 79 from the UK General Practice Research Database who had been diagnosed with a fracture between 1993 and 1999. Researchers then compared each of them with four people of the same age and sex who had not had a fracture - a total of 12,837 - to see who had been prescribed beta-blockers prior to that date. They found that taking beta-blockers together with thiazide diuretics, which protect against bone loss, was linked to a reduced risk of fracture of 29%. Using beta-blockers alone for around six months was linked to a 23% reduced risk. Taking thiazides alone was associated with a 20% risk. What the study says is that more people who did not have fractures were taking beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics than those who had fractures. However, it's quite possible that the people who were taking beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics were in poorer health than those who took no medication - and thus were less physically active. A person who takes no medication and perceives himself as healthy may be more likely to do risky things like windsurfing or snowboarding than someone who has a heart condition and takes beta-blockers. The jury's still out on this one. posted by Sydney on 10/02/2004 09:30:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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