[Examination of beneficial effects of risedronate in improving quality of life during long-term treatment of primary osteoporosis].

Background And Aims: Risedronate is a first-line medication in the therapy of osteoporosis and a substantial amount of evidence has already established the clinical efficacy of risedronate in the treatment of osteoporosis. However, studies addressing its long-term efficacy in improving patients' quality of life (QOL) are rare. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of long-term treatment with risedronate on the time-course of changes in patients' QOL.

Methods: Fourteen Japanese outpatients with primary osteoporosis (mean age: 69.4 +/- 10.1 yr, 7 men and 7 women), who had continued treatment with oral risedronate alone (2.5 mg, daily) for more than 3 years as of July 2008, were the subjects of this study. We investigated the time-course of changes in patients' QOL using the Japanese Osteoporosis Quality of Life Questionnaire (JOQOL) of the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research, together with measurement of bone mineral density and bone metabolic markers over 3 years.

Results: Risedronate significantly improved the total JOQOL score from 119.0 (103.0-127.0) points at entry to 128.0 (119.0-142.0) points at 12 months into the study (p=0.029) and this improvement was maintained during the study period. In addition, the pain score and the falls and anxiety score of the JOQOL continued to show significant improvements over 12 and 24 months, respectively. Serum BAP and NTX levels were significantly decreased at 6 months and continued to improve significantly during the study. We found no new bone fractures during the three study years and bone mineral density was maintained at good levels during the study period. The usage of cold or hot packs gradually decreased during the study period and was significantly reduced after 24 months (p=0.018).

Conclusion: This study showed that long-term treatment with risedronate significantly improved and favorably maintained the QOL of patients with primary osteoporosis, particularly pain-related scores.