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Narrative review examines coronary risk and vascular effects of bisphosphonates, denosumab, and romosozumab in osteoporosis

Narrative review examines coronary risk and vascular effects of bisphosphonates, denosumab, and romo…
Photo by Joshua Chehov / Unsplash
Key Takeaway
Note that current evidence does not support a uniform cardiovascular class effect of osteoporosis therapies.

This narrative review examines the cardiovascular safety of anti-osteoporosis therapies, specifically bisphosphonates, denosumab, and romosozumab. The scope includes coronary-specific outcomes, vascular calcification biology, skeletal remodeling, and renal-mineral outcomes. The authors note that current studies do not support a reproducible or clinically decisive effect on coronary-specific outcomes. No specific effect sizes or absolute numbers were reported in the synthesis.

Regarding vascular calcification, bisphosphonates and denosumab remain biologically relevant. However, romosozumab has unresolved cardiovascular safety questions linked to sclerostin inhibition. The review highlights that mechanistic, genetic, and clinical signals are not fully concordant. Differences between calcification burden and plaque vulnerability are noted as a key distinction.

The authors identify several limitations including heterogeneous vascular end points and indirect coronary inference. There is incomplete translation from mechanistic plausibility to clinical outcomes. Population-specific mineral stress and limitations of fracture trials for coronary inference are also acknowledged. The review does not report specific adverse events or discontinuation rates.

Practice relevance is framed cautiously. Current evidence does not support a uniform cardiovascular class effect of osteoporosis therapies. Vascular consequences appear drug-specific, context-dependent, and highly sensitive to phenotype, baseline risk, and time horizon. Clinicians should interpret these findings with restraint given the heterogeneity of the evidence.

Study Details

Study typeSystematic review
EvidenceLevel 1
PublishedApr 2026
View Original Abstract ↓
Osteoporosis therapies have become increasingly relevant to cardiovascular medicine because the bone–vascular interface links skeletal remodeling to vascular calcification biology. This narrative review examines whether anti-osteoporosis therapies truly modify coronary biology or risk, or whether the current literature more often reflects heterogeneous vascular end points, indirect coronary inference, and incomplete translation from mechanistic plausibility to clinical outcomes. We summarize the biologic pathways connecting bone remodeling to vascular calcification, including osteogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells, matrix vesicle-mediated mineralization, the OPG/RANKL axis, and Wnt–sclerostin signaling. We then reassess current evidence for antiresorptive and osteoanabolic therapies while distinguishing coronary-specific data from broader vascular, renal-mineral, pharmacovigilance, and genetic evidence. Bisphosphonates and denosumab remain biologically relevant to vascular calcification, but based on currently available evidence, current studies do not support a reproducible or clinically decisive effect on coronary-specific outcomes. By contrast, romosozumab has sharpened the debate because it combines robust anti-fracture efficacy with unresolved cardiovascular safety questions linked to sclerostin inhibition, whose mechanistic, genetic, and clinical signals are not fully concordant. We further discuss why the literature remains conflicted, emphasizing end point heterogeneity, differences between calcification burden and plaque vulnerability, population-specific mineral stress, and the limitations of fracture trials for coronary inference. Overall, current evidence does not support a uniform cardiovascular class effect of osteoporosis therapies; instead, vascular consequences appear drug-specific, context-dependent, and highly sensitive to phenotype, baseline risk, and time horizon.
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