Fractures and other adverse effects in patients taking oral corticosteroids compared with the control population
| Steroid patients (%) | Control group (%) | No of case control sets | Unadjusted odds ratio (95% CI) | p value2-150 | |
| Fractures | |||||
| Any “osteoporotic” fracture | 23.2 | 14.7 | 367 | 1.8 (1.3 to 2.6) | <0.001 |
| 2 or more fractures | 7.4 | 3.1 | 367 | 2.5 (1.4 to 4.4) | 0.003 |
| Vertebrae | 4.1 | 0.4 | 367 | 10.0 (2.9 to 34.5) | <0.001 |
| Hip | 1.6 | 0.3 | 367 | 6.0 (1.2 to 29.7) | 0.03 |
| Ribs/sternum | 5.4 | 1.8 | 367 | 3.2 (1.6 to 6.6) | 0.001 |
| Wrist | 5.7 | 6.1 | 367 | 0.9 (0.5 to 1.6) | 0.8 |
| Upper limb (not wrist) | 4.4 | 2.0 | 367 | 2.1 (1.1 to 4.3) | 0.04 |
| Lower limb | 5.7 | 4.5 | 367 | 1.3 (0.7 to 2.3) | 0.4 |
| Clavicle/scapula | 1.4 | 1.4 | 367 | 1.0 (0.3 to 2.9) | 1.0 |
| Symptoms | |||||
| Back pain in past year | 54.3 | 48.2 | 362 | 1.3 (1 to 1.7) | 0.05 |
| Bruising | 72.9 | 10.9 | 362 | 21.9 (13.9 to 34.5) | <0.001 |
| Muscle weakness | 59.8 | 19.3 | 360 | 6.7 (4.8 to 9.3) | <0.001 |
| Height loss of >2.5cm (since age 25) | 37.6 | 26.3 | 367 | 1.7 (1.3 to 2.2) | <0.001 |
| Diagnosis of: | |||||
| Cataracts | 18.4 | 8.6 | 365 | 2.6 (1.8 to 3.9) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 6.5 | 4.6 | 364 | 1.4 (0.8 to 2.5) | 0.2 |
| Hypertension | 17.8 | 23.5 | 356 | 0.7 (0.5 to 1.0) | 0.05 |
| Oral candidiasis | 29.7 | 2.7 | 364 | 15.5 (8.7 to 27.6) | <0.001 |
| Use of H2 antagonists | 22.6 | 7.8 | 367 | 3.5 (2.4 to 5.1) | <0.001 |
| Shingles (since respiratory diagnosis) | 12.5 | 9.4 | 367 | 1.4 (0.94 to 2.1) | 0.1 |
| Teeth (none) | 51.2 | 38.8 | 363 | 1.8 (1.4 to 2.4) | <0.001 |
↵2-150 Obtained by conditional logistic regression.