Adverse bone effects of medications used to treat non-skeletal disorders.

There is a growing list of medications used to treat non-skeletal disorders that cause bone loss and/or increase fracture risk. This review discusses glucocorticoids, drugs that reduce sex steroids, antidiabetic agents, acid-reducing drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and heparin. A number of drugs are known to cause bone loss, increase fracture risk, or both. These drugs should be used in the lowest dose necessary to achieve the desired benefit and for the shortest time necessary, but in many cases, long-term treatment is required. Effective countermeasures are available for some.