Abstract
This study examines the epidemiological data of patients with hip fractures from 1997-2007. Adult patients treated for hip fracture between the years 1997-2007 were included in the study.
Retrospective statistical assessment of continually gathered data focussed on epidemiology and demographics. The study involved 3,683 patients (2,678 women and 1,005 men).
Patients older than 70 years accounted for 82% of all cases. There were 2.7 times more women; in patients younger than 60 years men significantly outnumbered women (p < 0.001).
The mean patient age was 77.9 years (SD -12.6; women, 80.3 years; men, 71.5 years). There was a slight increase in the average age in both sexes.
Trochanteric fractures accounted for 54.7% and femoral neck fractures accounted for 45.3% of fractures. The ratio of men to women was the same in femoral neck (AO-31B) and trochanteric (AO-31A) fractures.
The average year-to-year increase in the number of fractures was 5.9%. For femoral neck fractures (AO-31B), there was a statistically insignificant increase in the number of fractures (p = 0.63); for intertrochanteric factures (AO-31A3) there was a statistically insignificant decrease (p = 0.65).
There was an increase in the number of hip fractures resulting in a significant increase in pertrochanteric fractures (AO-31A1+2) (p < 0.001). The ratio of trochanteric to neck fractures increased from 0.99 to 1.53.
Continual monitoring of patients with hip fracture offers data which allows comparisons between regions and countries. There has been a continual increase in the number of patients with hip fractures.