Benefits and risks of long-term osteoporosis medicines, including taking breaks or switching drugs
Benefits and Harms of Long-term Osteoporosis Pharmacotherapy: Impact of Treatment Length, Type, Switching, and Holidays
This project compares continuing, pausing, or switching osteoporosis medicines to see how each approach affects fracture risk and serious side effects in older adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brown University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Providence, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11131264 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project compares outcomes for older adults who have used oral bisphosphonates for at least three years to see what happens when people continue therapy, take a drug holiday, or switch to another osteoporosis medication. Researchers will measure fractures, serious consequences like death or entry into a nursing home, and rare harms such as atypical femoral fractures. The work includes both community-dwelling older adults and nursing home residents and aims to include groups underrepresented in past trials, such as men. The team will use large patient records and healthcare data to follow real-world treatment patterns and outcomes over time.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Older adults (generally 65 and older) who have been taking oral bisphosphonates for three or more years, including both community-dwelling people and nursing home residents, are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People under age 65, those who have never used osteoporosis medications, or those not facing decisions about long-term therapy are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help older adults and their clinicians make safer, clearer decisions about when to stop, switch, or continue osteoporosis medicines to lower fracture risk and avoid rare harms.
How similar studies have performed: Prior clinical trials in women found little difference in fracture risk after stopping versus continuing bisphosphonates for 3–5 years, but long-term harms and evidence in men and nursing-home residents remain limited.
Where this research is happening
Providence, United States
- Brown University — Providence, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hayes, Kaleen Nicole — Brown University
- Study coordinator: Hayes, Kaleen Nicole
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.