Prevalence of artificial hip implants and use of health services by recipients

Data from the 1988 Medical Device Implant Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey are used to summarize information about the prevalence of artificial hips among adults in the United States. The 1988 National Health Interview Survey was a cross-sectional survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized United States population, and included 122,310 persons in 47,485 households in a multistage probability sample. The supplement supplied the first population-based estimates of prevalence and morbidity of selected medical devices. Projected to the United States population, the survey results indicate that an estimated 674,000 adults were using 811,000 hip implants. Hip implant recipients were significantly more likely to be older, to be white, and to have lower educational, income, and activity levels than the general population of adults. After age-stratification, however, only differences in activity limitation and race remained. Current economic outlays for hip replacement surgery are substantial. With the aging population, use of health services by patients with artificial hips will probably increase unless measures to reduce the need for replacement surgery are instituted. These measures include reducing injuries and improving biomaterials. Further investigation is needed to examine the activity limitation and racial difference in prevalence found in this study.