text_1: More support for osteoporosis drugs
text_2: This thorough, well-researched story focuses on the debate over how and whether bisphosphonates should be used to treat osteoporosis, and provides a general overview of the related risks and potential benefits. The story does many things well — and addresses cost, potential conflicts of interest, and disease mongering particularly well. However, the story cites benefit numbers from a recent New England Journal of Medicine paper without giving readers any information about the study or where those numbers came from. Providing more context on those benefit numbers would have made the story stronger. Osteoporosis is not uncommon. Estimates of osteoporosis occurrence (and severity) vary, but a 2014 study estimated that more than 10 million people in the U.S. have osteoporosis. Osteoporosis increases the risk of bone injuries, such as hip fractures, that can have significant impacts on a patient’s health and quality of life. A 2007 study estimated that 65 percent of women who develop osteoporosis, and 42 percent of men who develop osteoporosis, will suffer a bone fracture in their lifetime. In short, many people will have to make decisions about how to prevent or treat osteoporosis. If there are complicated issues surrounding widely-used treatment options — as is the case with bisphosphonates — there is real value in news stories that attempt to untangle those issues for readers. That also makes it particularly important for such stories to clearly address everything from the financial ties of expert sources to the quality of the evidence tied to health risks and benefits.