Incidence of fractures among patients receiving medications for type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and glucocorticoid users according to the National Claims Database in Japan

SUMMARY: According to information from the National Health Insurance and Claims database, the risk for hip, radius, and clinical vertebral fractures was higher among patients receiving medication for type 2 diabetes, COPD, or glucocorticoids than among the whole Japanese population after middle age. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of fractures among patients receiving medications for type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and using glucocorticoids (GC) according to the National Database of Health Insurance Claims (NDB) in Japan. METHODS: We obtained data on the number of fractures and patients receiving medications for type 2 diabetes, COPD, or GC from the NDB. The claims data included sex, age group, injury/illness name, hospitalization, outpatient, surgery/medical treatment, and drugs used between January and December 2017. RESULTS: The risk of hip fracture was higher among patients receiving medications for diabetes or COPD and GC users than in the Japanese population, with standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of 1.71 (95% confidence interval [CI]1.6–1.75), 1.35 (95% CI 1.28–1.42), and 1.62 (95% CI 1.53–1.71) in men and 1.81 (95% CI 1.79–1.84), 1.67 (95% CI 1.54–1.80), and 1.71 (95% CI 1.66–1.76) in women, respectively. There was also a significantly higher incidence of radial fractures in women and clinical vertebral fractures in both men and women. A greater risk of hip fracture was found among diabetic patients starting in their late 40 s. CONCLUSIONS: Real-world data revealed that the incidence of hip, radius, and clinical vertebral fractures was significantly higher among patients receiving medications for diabetes or COPD and GC users than in the Japanese population after middle age. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11657-021-00968-9.