Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Aug 24:7:381-9.
doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S85427. eCollection 2015.

The impact of preadmission oral bisphosphonate use on 30-day mortality following stroke: a population-based cohort study of 100,043 patients

Diana Hedevang Christensen  1 , Erzsébet Horváth-Puhó  2 , Morten Schmidt  2 , Christian Fynbo Christiansen  2 , Lars Pedersen  2 , Bente Lomholt Langdahl  3 , Reimar Wernich Thomsen  2
Affiliations

The impact of preadmission oral bisphosphonate use on 30-day mortality following stroke: a population-based cohort study of 100,043 patients

Diana Hedevang Christensen et al. Clin Epidemiol. .

Abstract

Purpose: Bisphosphonate use has been associated with increased risk of fatal stroke. We examined the association between preadmission use of oral bisphosphonates and 30-day mortality following hospitalization for stroke.

Patients and methods: We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study using medical databases and identified all patients in Denmark with a first-time hospitalization for stroke between 1 July 2004 and 31 December 2012 (N=100,043). Cox regression was used to compute adjusted hazard ratios as a measure of 30-day mortality rate ratios (MRRs) associated with bisphosphonate current use (prescription filled within 90 days prior to the stroke) or recent use (prescription filled in the 90-180 days prior to the stroke). Current use was further classified as new or long-term use.

Results: We found 51,982 patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), 11,779 with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), 4,528 with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and 31,754 with unspecified stroke. Absolute 30-day mortality risks were increased among current vs nonusers of bisphosphonates for AIS (11.9% vs 8.5%), ICH (43.2% vs 34.5%), SAH (40.3% vs 23.2%), and unspecified strokes (18.8% vs 14.0%). However, in adjusted analyses, current bisphosphonate use did not increase 30-day mortality from AIS (MRR, 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75, 1.01); ICH (MRR, 1.05; 95% CI: 0.90, 1.23); SAH (MRR, 1.15; 95% CI: 0.83, 1.61); or unspecified stroke (MRR, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.09). Likewise, no association with mortality was found for recent use. Adjusted analyses by type of bisphosphonate showed increased mortality following stroke among new users of etidronate (MRR, 1.40; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.93) and reduced mortality after AIS among current users of alendronate (MRR, 0.87; 95% CI: 0.74, 1.02).

Conclusion: We found no overall evidence that preadmission bisphosphonate use increases 30-day mortality following stroke.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; mortality; oral bisphosphonates; osteoporosis treatment; prognosis; stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Suresh E, Pazianas M, Abrahamsen B. Safety issues with bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2014;53(1):19–31. - PubMed
    1. Black DM, Delmas PD, Eastell R, et al. HORIZON Pivotal Fracture Trial Once-yearly zoledronic acid for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. N Engl J Med. 2007;356(18):1809–1822. - PubMed
    1. Howard PA, Barnes BJ, Vacek JL, Chen W, Lai SM. Impact of bisphosphonates on the risk of atrial fibrillation. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2010;10(6):359–367. - PubMed
    1. Sharma A, Chatterjee S, Arbab-Zadeh A, et al. Risk of serious atrial fibrillation and stroke with use of bisphosphonates: evidence from a meta-analysis. Chest. 2013;144(4):1311–1322. - PubMed
    1. Frost L, Engholm G, Johnsen S, Moller H, Husted S. Incident stroke after discharge from the hospital with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Am J Med. 2000;108(1):36–40. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources