title: Hip fractures in the United States: 2008 nationwide emergency department sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the recent epidemiology of hip fractures in the US.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified hip fracture cases from the 2008 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, which contains more than 28 million emergency department (ED) records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2008, approximately 341,000 (95% confidence interval 323,000-358,000) patients visited EDs with hip fractures. Of those, 90% were age >60 years. Between ages 60-85 years, the risk of fracture doubled for every 5- to 6-year increase in age. However, the hip fracture risk increased slowly after age 85 years. The overall trochanteric-to-cervical fracture ratio was nearly 2:1. The risk of trochanteric fracture increased faster with age compared with the risk of cervical fracture. At age 85 years, the rates of trochanteric and cervical fractures (per 100,000) were 1,300 and 700, respectively, among women and 800 and 500, respectively, among men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The slowed growth of hip fracture risk after age 85 years suggests that the eldest old group may have a distinct hip fracture risk. Our study showed that trochanteric fractures were twice as common as cervical fractures. Because trochanteric fractures are more closely related to severe and generalized bone loss than cervical fractures, we hypothesize that the high incidence rate of trochanteric fractures in the US suggests that osteoporosis is a health problem that is linked to hip fracture. In addition to improved safety measures to reduce falls, rigorous preventive treatments of osteoporosis may be needed.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of California-Davis, 2921 Stockton Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. sunny.kim@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Sunny H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Blumenfeld
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Szabo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000639:trends; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology