Chest
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prevalence and progression of osteoporosis in patients with COPD: results from the TOwards a Revolution in COPD Health study.
Osteoporosis is common in patients with COPD, but its prevalence and progression are not well characterized. Concerns have been raised over the possible deleterious effect of long-term therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) on bone density in this population. Here, we investigated the long-term effects of therapy with fluticasone propionate (FP) alone, salmeterol (SAL) alone, and a SAL/FP combination (SFC) on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone fractures in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD in the TOwards a Revolution in COPD Health (TORCH) study. ⋯ Osteoporosis is highly prevalent in patients with COPD, irrespective of gender. In the TORCH study, no significant effect on BMD was detected for ICS therapy compared with placebo.