Key clinical point: Exposure to oral (OCS) and inhaled (ICS) corticosteroid is associated with an increased risk for osteoporosis and fragility fracture (FF) in patients with asthma.
Major finding: Patients receiving more OCS prescriptions (9 or more vs. 0) were at a greater risk for osteoporosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.21-6.11) and FF (aOR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.56-3.38). Among patients receiving more ICS prescriptions (11 or more vs. 0), the aORs for osteoporosis and FF were 1.60 (95% CI, 1.22-2.10) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.02-1.68), respectively.
Study details: Two UK population-based nested case-control studies included 1,564 patients with asthma and osteoporosis (3,313 control participants) and 2,131 with asthma and FF (4,421 control participants).
Disclosures: The study was funded by a research award from the British Medical Association. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Chalitsios CV et al. Thorax. 2020 Oct 21. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215664 .