Fosamax and Completed suicide - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Completed suicide is reported as a side effect among people who take Fosamax (alendronate sodium), especially for people who are female, 60+ old, have been taking the drug for 5 - 10 years also take Amlodipine, and have Pain.

The study is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 104,411 people who have side effects when taking Fosamax from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Fosamax?

Fosamax has active ingredients of alendronate sodium. It is often used in osteoporosis. eHealthMe is studying from 105,452 Fosamax users. Check the latest studies of Fosamax.

On Aug, 11, 2026

104,411 people reported to have side effects when taking Fosamax.
Among them, 31 people (0.03%) died.

Among these 31 people:

How long have people been on Fosamax when they died? *

What is the gender of people who died when taking Fosamax? *

female: 87.1 %
male: 12.9 %

What is the age of people who died when taking Fosamax? *

What are other drugs people take besides Fosamax? *

What are other side effects people have before they died? *

Depression: 5 people, 16.13%
Suicidal Ideation: 5 people, 16.13%
Femur Fracture: 4 people, 12.90%
Stress And Anxiety: 3 people, 9.68%
Fall: 2 people, 6.45%
Logorrhea: 2 people, 6.45%
Multiple Sclerosis (a nervous system disease that affects your brain and spinal cord. it damages the myelin sheath): 2 people, 6.45%
Muscle Atrophy (a decrease in the mass of the muscle): 2 people, 6.45%
Cerebral Hypoxia (not enough oxygen getting to the brain): 2 people, 6.45%
Intervertebral Disc Degeneration (spinal disc degeneration): 2 people, 6.45%

What are the existing conditions these people have? *

Pain: 4 people, 12.90%
Multiple Sclerosis (a nervous system disease that affects your brain and spinal cord. it damages the myelin sheath): 2 people, 6.45%
Osteoporotic Fracture (fracture due to weak bone): 1 person, 3.23%
Osteitis (a general term for inflammation of bone): 1 person, 3.23%
Mania (a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood): 1 person, 3.23%
Insomnia (sleeplessness): 1 person, 3.23%
Depression: 1 person, 3.23%
Bipolar Ii Disorder (characterized by at least one episode of hypomania and at least one episode of major depression): 1 person, 3.23%
Bipolar I Disorder (mood disorder that is characterized by at least one manic or mixed episode): 1 person, 3.23%
Back Pain: 1 person, 3.23%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Fosamax:

Fosamax (105,452 reports)

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of alendronate sodium:

Completed suicide and drugs with ingredients of alendronate sodium (83 reports)

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Fosamax:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Completed suicide:

Completed suicide (969 drugs)

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Completed suicide:

Completed suicide (1,027 conditions)

Related publications that referenced our studies

Stuckey BG, Sallie R, "Alendronate-induced unmasking or deterioration of coeliac disease: a case series", Osteoporosis International, 2015 Jan .
Lee WY, Sun LM, Lin MC, Liang JA, Chang SN, Sung FC, Muo CH, Kao CH, "A higher dosage of oral alendronate will increase the subsequent cancer risk of osteoporosis patients in Taiwan: a population-based cohort study", PloS one, 2012 Dec .
Stuckey BG, Sallie R, "Alendronate-induced unmasking or deterioration of coeliac disease: a case series", Osteoporosis International, 2015 Jan .
Lee WY, Sun LM, Lin MC, Liang JA, Chang SN, Sung FC, Muo CH, Kao CH, "A higher dosage of oral alendronate will increase the subsequent cancer risk of osteoporosis patients in Taiwan: a population-based cohort study", PloS one, 2012 Dec .

How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on alendronate sodium (the active ingredients of Fosamax) and Fosamax (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.