Warning after one of UK's most commonly prescribed drugs is linked to debilitating bone disease
Thousands of Brits who take drugs for a common hormone condition could be at risk of bone loss, concerning research suggested today.
Roughly one in five Britons are affected by an underactive thyroid, caused by problems with the butterfly-shaped gland in the neck which governs functions from digestion to heart rate and mood.
Yet levothyroxine, pills that cost just a few pence a day to combat the condition, could raise the risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.
Research has long suggested too much thyroid hormone speeds up bone loss heightening the risk of the disease.
But now, the US scientists who assessed the drug on dozens of patients, found this risk was still raised among those with 'normal' levels of the thyroid-stimulating hormone.
Professor Shadpour Demehri, an expert in radiology at John Hopkins University in Maryland and study co-author said: 'Our study suggests that even when following current guidelines, levothyroxine use appears to be associated with greater bone loss in older adults.'
Dr Elena Ghotbi, study lead author and postdoctoral research fellow at John Hopkins University added: 'Data indicates that a significant proportion of thyroid hormone prescriptions may be given to older adults without hypothyroidism.
'This raises concerns about subsequent excess of thyroid hormone even when treatment is targeted to reference range goals.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14122535/UK-commonly-prescribed-drugs-bone-disease-Levothyroxine.html