title: [Hip fracture: a case-control study in the metropolitan region I].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hip fracture is a preventable cause of disability among elderly people
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study factors associated to hip fractures in Chile.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients admitted to seven public hospitals in Chile, with hip fracture not due to major accidents, were considered as cases. To each, at least one age and sex matched hospitalized control, without or neoplastic diseases, was assigned. All patients were subjected to an inquiry, using an instrument devised by the WHO.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred sixty eight cases and 501 controls were studied. Cases and controls has similar educational and labor histories. The right hip was fractures in 47% of cases and the left in the rest. Compared with controls, cases had a higher body mass index, loss of height during life, rate of hysterectomy, incidence of smoking and a lower consumption of diary products. Cases had higher risk of falls inside their homes and controls outside.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The obtained information may contribute to the development of preventive measures and reduce the public health impact of hip fracture.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Salud Pública, Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valdivia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giaconi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arteaga
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pumarino
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gajardo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Villarroel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors