Incidence of hip fractures in Dublin's north inner city

Hip fractures are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly and represent an increasing burden on health service providers. There is significant regional and international variation in the incidence rates of such injuries, depending on age, sex and ethnic variations in populations. To date, there are no reported incidence rates for hip fractures in Ireland. Over a five year period, 717 low energy hip fractures were treated in the orthopaedic trauma unit of the Mater Misericordiae hospital. For this population, the female to male ratio was 3.3:1 (549 females and 166 males), the gender specific incidences were 470 per 100,000 and 179 per 100,000 for females and males, respectively. The overall age standardized rate was 341 per 100,000. This study quantifies the burden of hip fracture on a local population. With this knowledge, health service providers should be able to allocate appropriate resources for these patients in terms of acute and step-down care facilities.