Commonly prescribed thyroid drug levothyroxine was linked with bone mass and bone density loss in a cohort of older adults in a recent study.

Prescribed to treat hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer, around 7% of the U.S. population takes levothyroxine. The drug is a synthetic version of a hormone called thyroxine and, according to a recent report from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA),

New research suggests that a thyroid medication often prescribed to older Americans may be linked to a common problem in old age -- bone loss.

A new study reveals a potential link between levothyroxine, a common treatment for underactive thyroid, and bone loss in older adults. Researchers found that even with normal thyroid hormone levels, levothyroxine users experienced greater bone density reduction over a six-year period.