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Timo E. Strandberg, MD, PhD

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A recent article¹ in the Archives showed an association between the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and alendronate treatment. This relationship may well be confounded by atherosclerosis, which is a background factor for AF but apparently also for osteoporosis. This possibility was duly but shortly mentioned in the accompanying editorial² and should be emphasized because these kind of associations easily capture media attention and may lead to unnecessary concern among physicians and patients.

Although the prevalences of both atherosclerosis and osteoporosis increase with age, various and accumulating evidence indicate a more direct relationship between these 2 conditions. Appropriate blood circulation is essential for bone health.³ In keeping with this,³ endothelial function was impaired in individuals with lowered bone mineral density, patients with femoral fractures had more vascular pathologic abnormalities than control patients with osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis in the hip was associated with advanced atherosclerosis in . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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