{"id":808085,"date":"2026-08-09T16:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T16:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/808085\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T16:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T16:40:10","slug":"type-2-diabetes-glp-1-drugs-may-lower-fracture-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/808085\/","title":{"rendered":"Type 2 Diabetes: GLP-1 Drugs May Lower Fracture Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleShare on Pinterest<\/a>GLP-1 medications may help lower fragility-related fracture risk in people with type 2 diabetes. OLEKSANDRA TROIAN \u00b7 Moment\/GettyA new study found that GLP-1 medications may help reduce the risk of fragility fractures in people with type 2 diabetes.The largest fracture reductions were seen in hip, femur, and spine fractures. Because this is an observational study, it doesn\u2019t prove that GLP-1 medications reduce fracture risk. <\/p>\n

A new study reports that people with type 2 diabetes who take GLP-1 medications may lower their risk for fragility-related fractures.<\/p>\n

Fragility fractures occur when bones are fragile enough to break from a fall that wouldn\u2019t normally break a healthy bone.<\/p>\n

While the findings are encouraging, the study is observational and therefore cannot prove that GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic<\/a> or Mounjaro<\/a>, reduce the risk of fractures. The researchers acknowledged this limitation and agree that further studies are needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cGLP-1 RAs are being used by a rapidly growing number of patients,\u201d said the study\u2019s primary author, Christopher D. Hamad<\/a>, MD, research fellow in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on the specific medication, their uses now extend beyond diabetes<\/a> to weight management, cardiovascular risk reduction, kidney protection, obstructive sleep apnea<\/a>, and metabolic liver disease<\/a>. As their use expands, it is important to understand how they may affect the rest of the body, including bone, so clinicians can give patients a balanced picture of their potential benefits and risks,\u201d Hamad told Healthline. <\/p>\n

The study analyzed health data from about 134,000 American adults ages 50-90 with type 2 diabetes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The researchers found people with type 2 diabetes who took a GLP-1 medication had a 21% lower risk of a fragility fracture over the three-year study period, compared with those who took DPP-4 inhibitors. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe finding was especially encouraging because the largest reductions were seen in hip<\/a> and femur<\/a> fractures, which can be devastating,\u201d Hamad said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese injuries often require surgery and can lead to lasting loss of mobility and independence. Following a hip fracture, up to one-third<\/a> of patients may die within the next year. However, this was an observational study, so the results should be viewed as an important signal rather than proof that GLP-1 RAs prevent fractures,\u201d Hamad noted. <\/p>\n

Hamad explained that GLP-1 treatments change inflammation<\/a> and the balance between the cells that build bone and those that break it down. This mechanism could offer some protection against fragility fractures.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaboratory research provides some support for this idea, but our study did not directly test the mechanism and cannot establish a direct effect on bone,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are currently conducting translational studies to investigate this question further.\u201d <\/p>\n

David Cutler<\/a>, MD, a board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, said that people who take GLP-1s seem to have lower fracture risk, but it\u2019s unclear whether it\u2019s the GLP-1 drugs or another factor. Cutler wasn\u2019t involved in the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be because their diabetes is better controlled,\u201d Cutler told Healthline. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be because they\u2019ve lost weight<\/a> on those medications. It may be because they have different exercise regimens when they\u2019re taking those medications. So all we know is [that] the association exists between the GLP-1 drugs and the lower fracture risk. We don\u2019t know if the drug itself is the exact cause,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Marc J. Levine<\/a>, MD, FAAOS, chairman of orthopedic surgery at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center and for Hackensack Meridian Health\u2019s Southern Region in New Jersey, explained that \u201cfragility\u201d fractures are the type of hip and spine fractures often seen in older adults. These may occur during low-energy events, such as falls or bending forward. Levine wasn\u2019t involved in the study.<\/p>\n

Levine offered some insight as to why peoplewith type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for these types of fractures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe effects of diabetes on bone can lead to [a] decrease in bone strength,\u201d Levine told Healthline. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis decrease in bone strength seen in individuals with type 2 diabetes differs from that of aging bone. This may be related to the negative effects on the delicate balance of bone turnover, including bone resorption and bone formation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Levin noted there are instances where bone may look denser on an X-ray but have less strength and decreased flexibility, making those with type 2 diabetes more prone to fractures. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe standard DEXA scan<\/a>, routinely used to follow elderly females for osteoporosis<\/a>, may not detect the decreased bone strength seen in type 2 diabetes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Levine added that independent of bone strength, people with type 2 diabetes may also have related problems with neuropathy<\/a> in their feet, which can affect balance as well as compromised vision that can increase the risk of falling.<\/p>\n

Levine said it\u2019s important for researchers to continue examining how GLP-1 medications may affect different aspects of a person\u2019s health. <\/p>\n

This, he said, is especially important with chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes. Doctors, he said, have to consider the \u201cwhole patient.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMedications don\u2019t act in a vacuum,\u201d he explained. \u201cUnderstanding how a drug affects other systems, like the skeletal system<\/a>, cardiovascular health, or nervous system<\/a>, is critical to ensuring we are providing comprehensive, safe care that improves a patient\u2019s overall quality of life, not just one specific number on a lab report.\u201d <\/p>\n

To determine the effects of GLP-1s on diabetes-related fractures, Cutler said the next step would be to conduct a study with more people for a longer period, ideally in a prospective manner. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, identify the patients beforehand, control for some of the variables in the study, and it may make it easier to assign cause and effect relationships that way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share on PinterestGLP-1 medications may help lower fragility-related fracture risk in people with type 2 diabetes. OLEKSANDRA TROIAN…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[97,243],"class_list":["post-808085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}