title: [Cost of fractures in German hospitals--what role does osteoporosis play?].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to examine the total and osteoporosis-attributable inpatient costs of 16 fracture types accrued in the German hospital sector in the year 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  To calculate the inpatient fracture costs in the hospital sector we combined data from different official German statistics, i.e., fracture-specific diagnosis data from female and male inpatients in 2009, population data, fracture-specific diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), and per diem capital costs in hospitals. The share of fractures which were attributable to osteoporosis had been estimated by the epidemiological concept of "population attributable risk". Calculation of these risks was based on empirical data obtained from the national and international literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the year 2009 the total inpatient costs accrued by the 16 fracture types considered in our analyses amounted to 2.4 billion Euros. Of these, 860 million Euros (36%) were attributable to osteoporosis. The main cost drivers were hip fractures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fractures accrue relevant hospital costs in Germany. In order to use the limited resources of the German health-care system in an efficient way, future measures to reduce the number of incident fractures should be designed and evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institut für Medizinische Soziologie, Sozialmedizin und Gesundheitsökonomie, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Hamburg.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bleibler
authors.affiliation: Robert Bosch Krankenhaus, Klinik für Geriatrische Rehabilitation, Stuttgart.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Benzinger
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institut für Medizinische Soziologie, Sozialmedizin und Gesundheitsökonomie, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Hamburg.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehnert
authors.affiliation: Robert Bosch Krankenhaus, Klinik für Geriatrische Rehabilitation, Stuttgart.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institut für Medizinische Soziologie, Sozialmedizin und Gesundheitsökonomie, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Hamburg.
authors.forename: H-H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: König
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D058866:Osteoporotic Fractures / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution