Gabapentinoid Use Tied to Higher Risk for Hip Fractures

MONDAY, Nov. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Gabapentinoid use is associated with an increased risk for hip fractures, according to a study published online Nov. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Miriam T.Y. Leung, from the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues investigated the association between gabapentinoids and the risk for hip fractures in older adults. The analysis included 28,293 patients hospitalized for hip fracture between March 1, 2013, and June 30, 2018.

The researchers found that 10.4 percent were dispensed a gabapentinoid before hip fracture. There was an increased risk for hip fracture with gabapentinoid dispensing (odds ratio, 1.96). The odds of hip fractures remained elevated when adjusting for the exposure-time trend and concomitant use of other central nervous system medications (odds ratio, 1.30). In patients with a Hospital Frailty Risk Score of ≥5 and chronic kidney disease, the associations between gabapentinoid dispensing and hip fracture were higher (odds ratios, 1.75 and 2.41, respectively).

"These findings suggest that in addition to the known risk associated with kidney impairment, gabapentinoids should be used with caution among patients at risk of hip fractures, especially those who are frail," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text