Many don't stick to bone drugs, despite counseling

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis often skip the drugs they are prescribed, and telephone counseling does little to change that, according to new research.

Researchers said osteoporosis is involved in more than two million fractures a year in the U.S., racking up medical costs of $19 billion.

In addition to exercise and a healthy diet with enough calcium and vitamin D, as well as measures to prevent falls, medications may reduce the risk of broken bones -- which can take a serious toll on the health of old people.

For people at high risk, bone drugs such as bisphosphonates may cut the yearly fracture risk from five percent to three percent, said Dr. Daniel Solomon of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

But people often stop taking the medications, added Solomon, also of Harvard Medical School.

"It's the problem with all chronic conditions," he told Reuters Health. "Drugs for asymptomatic chronic conditions are universally poorly adhered to."

Some 10 million Americans currently suffer from bone thinning, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. The majority are postmenopausal women.

Bone drugs include Merck's Fosamax, Roche's Boniva, Novartis's Reclast and Warner Chilcott's Actonel.

To see if they could convince people to take their drugs, Solomon and his colleagues divided more than 2,000 men and women with osteoporosis into two groups.

The participants were all on Medicare, the government's health insurance for the elderly, and got their meds for a co-pay of no more than a few dollars.

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Many don't stick to bone drugs, despite counseling