Letters4 September 2007Benzodiazepines and Hip FracturesAnita K. Wagner, PharmD, MPH, DrPH, Dennis Ross-Degnan, ScD, Stephen B. Soumerai, ScD, and Jerry H. Gurwitz, MDAnita K. Wagner, PharmD, MPH, DrPHFrom Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215, and Meyers Primary Care Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Fallon Foundation, and Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, MA 01605.Search for more papers by this author, Dennis Ross-Degnan, ScDFrom Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215, and Meyers Primary Care Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Fallon Foundation, and Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, MA 01605.Search for more papers by this author, Stephen B. Soumerai, ScDFrom Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215, and Meyers Primary Care Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Fallon Foundation, and Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, MA 01605.Search for more papers by this author, and Jerry H. Gurwitz, MDFrom Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215, and Meyers Primary Care Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Fallon Foundation, and Fallon Community Health Plan, Worcester, MA 01605.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-5-200709040-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Dr. Lesser supports our conclusion of the possible lack of a relationship between the use of benzodiazepines and hip fractures in the elderly with additional data from the published literature. Since the landmark studies of 1987 (1) and 1989 (2), results of research on the benzodiazepine–hip fracture relationship have become increasingly contradictory. We concur with Dr. Lesser that differences in results are probably due to study design issues, such as benzodiazepine exposure misclassification in prospective cohort studies (3) and imperfect control for potential confounders in large, claims data–based, case–control studies (4). On the basis of these results and ...