A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicinereported that men and women over 60 who take corticosteroids longer than six months are greatly at risk of deformities of the bones and spine.

Researchers studied a group of 229 patients who had taken corticosteroids for longer than six months and a group of 286 people in the same age group that had not taken the drugs.

Most of the patients were being treated for rheumatoid arthritis and had been on corticosteroids for an average of 58 months. Overall results showed that 28% of the corticosteroid-treated patients had at least one deformity of the vertebrae in the spine — which was considered to be more than a 20% loss of height in the bone.

The study also showed patients 70 to 79 years of age had five times the risk of vertebral fractures than patients under age 60.

Patients with vertebral deformities had taken the corticosteroids for a longer time than patients who did not have the deformities.

SOURCE: “Steroids Increase Risk of Spinal Problems,” Chiropractic Products, December 2000, p. 66.