Danish researchers have offered more evidence that long-term inhaled corticosteriods given to control asthma in children do not have adverse effects on bone density.
Researchers at Kolding Hospital in Kolding, Denmark, studied 157 children with asthma who received an average daily dose of 504 µg of inhaled budesonide for at least 3 years. They included 111 control patients who had not used such a drug for more than 14 days. The researchers measured total body bone-mineral density, total body bone-mineral capacity, total bone calcium, and body composition. They found no differences between the 2 groups.
In fact, the researchers reported that 4
years of treatment with inhaled budesonide at 504 µg/d had less effect on bone-mineral density and the other parameters they measured than insufficient dietary calcium intake or use of oral steroids. The researchers said their study and others suggest that only doses of 800 µg/d or . . . [Full Text of this Article]
