Bisphosphonates reduced the risk of acute myocardial infarction: a 2-year follow-up study

• Published in: Osteoporosis international 2013-01, Vol.24 (1), p.271-277
• Main Authors: Kang, J.-H., Keller, J. J., Lin, H.-C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Bone Density Conservation Agents - therapeutic use; Databases, Factual; Diphosphonates - therapeutic use; Endocrinology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction - epidemiology; Myocardial Infarction - prevention & control; Original Article; Orthopedics; Osteoporosis - drug therapy; Osteoporosis - epidemiology; Osteoporotic Fractures - epidemiology; Osteoporotic Fractures - prevention & control; Rheumatology; Risk Assessment - methods; Socioeconomic Factors; Taiwan - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0937-941X; 1433-2965
• DOI: 10.1007/s00198-012-2213-5

Summary This population-based matched cohort analysis explored the effects of bisphosphonate treatment on acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We found that patients who received bisphosphonate therapy had a lower risk of AMI during a 2-year follow-up period (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.35). Our data support that bisphosphonates may provide protective effects against cardiovascular events. Introduction Although bisphosphonates have been suggested to have anti-atherosclerotic effects in animal models, evidence in human subjects is still conflicting. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effects of bisphosphonate treatment on AMI using a population-based cohort study. Methods We identified 1,548 patients who received bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporotic fractures and randomly extracted 4,644 subjects with vertebral or hip fractures as a comparison cohort. Each patient was individually tracked for 2 years to identify those who subsequently suffered an AMI. Stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to assess the effect of bisphosphonate treatment on the risk of AMI. Results Six (0.4 %) of the patients who received bisphosphonate therapy and 49 (1.1 %) of the comparison subjects suffered an AMI during the 2-year follow-up period. The incidence rate of AMI was 1.94 (95 % CI = 0.79–4.03) per 1,000 person-years in patients who received bisphosphonate therapy and 5.28 (95 % CI = 3.95–6.92) per 1,000 person-years in comparison patients. Regression analysis revealed that patients who received bisphosphonate therapy had a lower hazard of AMI during the 2-year follow-up period than comparison patients (HR = 0.37, 95 % CI = 0.16–0.85, p  = 0.020). After censoring cases that died from non-AMI causes and adjusting for both demographic and risk factors, the HR of AMI for patients who received bisphosphonate therapy was 0.35 (95 % CI = 0.14–0.84, p  = 0.020) than that of comparison patients. Conclusions Patients who received bisphosphonate therapy had a lower risk of AMI during the 2-year follow-up period. Our data support that bisphosphonates may provide protective effects against cardiovascular events.