United States: The very famously prescribed drug is linked to a very debilitating bone condition, according to an official report.
More than 22 million people use Synthroid (levothyroxine), making it one of five top-selling medications in the United States.
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It is a man-made (or synthetic) hormone taken by individuals with thyroid disorders, which is the gland responsible for controlling energy, weight, and hair growth.
However, the researchers discovered that patients who use the drug lose bone density at a faster rate than their counterparts who are of similar weight, height, and health.
The study focused only on a group of people who are already most susceptible to the adverse consequences of frail bones also referred to as osteoporosis which renders the affected individuals frail and prone to fall.
However, the researchers from Johns Hopkins University urged adults of all ages who are taking the drug to do so after consulting their physicians.
The authors cautioned that people already used Synthroid for a long time and that even the reason for the initial prescription let alone the necessity of continuing the use of this drug escapes them.
According to Professor Shadpour Demehri, an expert in radiology at John Hopkins University in Maryland and study co-author, “Our study suggests that even when following current guidelines, levothyroxine use appears to be associated with greater bone loss in older adults,” Daily Mail reported.
The findings of the research will be detailed later in the week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
What more have the experts noted?
In the study, the authors compared 81 patients, using levothyroxine and 364 non-users of levothyroxine. Participants were 73 years of age on average and had a mean thyroid-stimulating hormone level of 2.35. Normal ranges are measured to be 0.4-4.0 mU/L.
According to the article, this was the case whether the patients had normal TSH readings or not.
Adults being treated with levothyroxine, according to the co-author of the study, Dr Jennifer Mammen, an associate professor of endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, should consult a medic and get their thyroid function tests checked often.
“A risk-benefit assessment should be conducted, weighing the strength of the indications for treatment against the potential adverse effects of levothyroxine in this population,” she added.