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Osteoporosis is generally blamed on lack of specific nutrition and exercise.<\/p>\nOsteoporosis is generally blamed on lack of specific nutrition and exercise.<\/p>\n
But a new study in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology<\/em> reveals that a common type of skin cream carries the blame.<\/p>\n Corticosteroid creams are commonly used for inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and allergic reactions. They are also used to help with arthritis pain and swelling.<\/p>\n A team of Taiwanese scientists wondered whether the creams were safer for our bones than the injected and oral types, and decided to find out.<\/p>\n The researchers used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to select 129,682 cases of individuals diagnosed with osteoporosis and 34,999 cases of people who had experienced major osteoporotic fractures.<\/p>\n These cases were then compared to a large control group of 518,728 individuals without osteoporosis and 139,996 without such fractures, matched based on age and sex.<\/p>\n They then examined the relationship between the cumulative doses of corticosteroid cream and the incidence of osteoporosis and fractures. The doses were categorized as low, medium, and high.<\/p>\n This is what they found.<\/p>\n 2.\tCompared to people who did not use these creams, those exposed to low, medium, and high cumulative doses over five years had 22%, 26%, and 34% higher odds of developing osteoporosis, respectively. <\/p>\n 3.\tThese three doses were associated with a 12%, 19%, and 29% higher odds of experiencing a major osteoporotic fracture.<\/p>\n 4.\tWomen were at a higher risk of both osteoporosis and fractures than men due to these creams.<\/p>\n 5.\tYounger people, specifically those under 50 years, faced the highest risk of corticosteroid-linked osteoporosis compared to other age groups.\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n The implications of these findings are serious, especially for healthcare professionals and the people for whom they prescribe corticosteroid creams.<\/p>\n There is an aspect of this discovery that is also particularly interesting. While the human skin is obviously porous, it is usually assumed that it’s difficult to get creams to penetrate deep enough to work for bone and joint conditions. Anyone who has tried to use topical anti-inflammatories for arthritis can testify how poorly they actually work against pain.<\/p>\n But this study clearly shows that they do make their way deep enough into our bodies to compromise our bone density and strength.<\/p>\n\n