Systematic review: comparative effectiveness of treatments to prevent fractures in men and women with low bone density or osteoporosis.

Background: Although several agents are available to treat osteoporosis, the relative efficacy and toxicity of these agents when used to prevent fractures has not been well described.

Purpose: To compare the benefits in fracture reduction and the harms from adverse events of various therapies for osteoporosis.

Data Sources: MEDLINE (1966 to November 2007) and other selected databases were searched for English-language studies.