Prolonged-efficacy of bisphosphonate in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and chronic liver disease

Osteoporosis is present often in postmenopausal women. The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to assess the cumulative appearance incidence and predictive factors for bone fracture in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and chronic liver disease. The patients were 80 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and chronic liver disease due to hepatitis virus B or C. These patients were given cyclic etidronate therapy within 3 months after diagnosis of osteoporosis (etidronate-group). Another 400 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and chronic liver disease were selected as controls (control group). Patients in control group were matched 1:5 with etidronate-group for age. Patients in control group were not given any drugs after diagnosis of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The mean observation period was 8.1 years. Four patients in the etidronate-group and 46 in control group developed bone fracture. The 10th year cumulative appearance rates of bone fracture were 4.9% in etidronate-group and 13.8% in control group. Cox regression model showed that the appearance rate of bone fracture decreased with statistical significance in the following cases: (1) patients <65 years (P<0.001), (2) patients with serum albumin level of >= 3.5 g/dl (P=0.003), and (3) patients treated with etidronate (P=0.020). The cumulative survival rate after bone fracture was 82.2% at the second year, and 57.6% at the fifth year. The present study suggests that a serum albumin level of >= 3.5 g/dl and cyclic etidronate treatment reduce the appearance of bone fracture.