One of the most-prescribed drugs in the United States for older adults has been linked to bone loss in a new study, officials said Monday.
Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Medicine found in their study that levothyroxine, a synthetic hormone often used to treat hypothyroidism, may be associated with bone loss, a disease that weakens bones and causes them to be more likely to break. Common brand names for levothyroxine include Synthroid, Unithroid, and Tirosint.
About 23 million Americans, or around 7 percent of the entire U.S. population, take the medication on a daily basis, according to a news release issued by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), which announced the findings of the study that will be presented at the society’s annual meeting in December….