Study Participants
rheumatoid arthritis, unstable liver disease, GI disease, thyroid disease, cancer, basal cell carcinoma of the skin
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, BLEEDING, THYROID DISEASE, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, CANCER, DIABETES MELLITUS, PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM, OSTEOPOROSIS
We included postmenopausal women (2 years since last menstrual bleeding) with a BMD T-score <−1. Moreover, as the primary endpoint was decrease in CTx (see below), we included women with CTx > 420 ng/L which is the median value for postmenopausal women at our laboratory. We excluded participants who had ever received treatment for osteoporosis, had contraindications for alendronate (according to the SPC), fulfilled the criteria for teriparatide treatment in Denmark, received treatment with systemic glucocorticoids within the past 12 months, received hormone replacement therapy, had rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, untreated thyroid disease, primary hyperparathyroidism, diabetes mellitus, unstable liver disease, cancer within the past 2 years (except basal cell carcinoma of the skin), major GI disease within the past 12 months, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min, or p-25-hydroxy-vitamin D (D3 + D2) < 50 nmol/L.