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Optimal treatment of hip fractures
1Department of Orthopedics, Lund University Hospital, Sweden.
Insights
Hip fractures are a significant burden on healthcare in Scandinavia, particularly affecting women. Projections indicate a 50-100% increase in hip fracture cases by 2000 due to an aging population and rising incidence.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Gerontology
- Public Health
Background:
- Hip fractures represent a substantial healthcare burden in Scandinavia, consuming significant hospital bed resources and exceeding the combined hospital days of all cancer patients in Sweden.
- In the mid-1980s, Scandinavian countries reported high annual hip fracture numbers: Denmark (6,500), Finland (4,500), Iceland (260), Norway (6,000), and Sweden (14,000).
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the epidemiology of hip fractures in Scandinavia.
- To project future trends in hip fracture incidence and discuss variations in fracture types and demographics.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of hip fracture data from Scandinavian countries.
- Epidemiological projection based on demographic changes and incidence trends.
Main Results:
- Hip fracture incidence in Scandinavia was projected to increase by 50-100% by the year 2000.
- The ratio of cervical to trochanteric fractures varied across nations, with Norway and Sweden showing a 1:1 ratio, while Iceland and Finland had more cervical fractures. Notably, trochanteric fractures were increasing in Iceland.
- Women constituted three-quarters of all hip fracture patients across Scandinavia.
Conclusions:
- Hip fractures pose a growing public health challenge in Scandinavia, disproportionately affecting women.
- Understanding demographic and incidence trends is crucial for healthcare planning and resource allocation for hip fracture management.
Abstract:
At the orthopedic departments in Sweden, the hip fracture patients continuously occupy up to one third of the bed resources. Hip fractures in Sweden consume more hospital days than all the cancer patients together. In the middle of the 1980s, the annual number of hip fractures amounted to 6,500 in Denmark, 4,500 in Finland, 260 in Iceland, 6,000 in Norway and 14,000 in Sweden. The calculated number of hip fractures in the year 2000 is dependent on if the prognosis is based solely on the increasing number of elderly in the population or if also the increasing incidence during the last decades is included. An increase up to the year 2000 of 50-100 percent is prognosticated for Scandinavia. The proportions cervical/trochanteric fractures varies. In Norway and Sweden it is close to 1/1, whereas Iceland and Finland have more cervical than trochanteric fractures. In Iceland, however, trochanteric fractures are increasing. Finally, in all of Scandinavia, 3 out of 4 hip fracture patients are women.