What is your take-away from the article you referenced? It's very long and I noted a couple things: (Please correct me if any of this is incorrect.)
1). "HRT was an inclusion criterion and recommended for osteoporosis according to the guidelines at that time." So, everyone in the study had HRT? That too would affect the study results vs how many people taking Forteo today also take HRT.
2). People in the study had at least one vertebral compression fracture. But I didn't find any info on what their DEXA scores were before and after the study.
3). A limitation to the study results "is the lack of X-ray verification of possible silent vertebral fractures in the teriparatide treated group." This also affects determining the percentage of fractures that might have been prevented with Forteo treatment.
4). Of note is that after taking Forteo, "80% received bone specific agents after teriparatide. Four patients without any new fracture had low fall risk and a normal DXA were not prescribed bone specific treatment after the teriparatide treatment. "
5). The percentages of improvements are not stated as relative risk vs absolute risk. From Better Bones website: "Tymlos is marketed as a better version of Forteo, boasting that it reduces the relative risk of non-vertebral fractures by 43%. But, relative risk can be a deceivingly inflated statistic. In actuality, for both drugs there was just a 2-4% reduction in absolute risk of non-vertebral fractures."
I have osteoporosis and am not on any drugs, but my endo Dr wants me to take Prolia. My last two DEXA scans taken 2 yrs apart showed my scores were stable. I get my next scan in a few months.