title: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CAUSES OF PROXIMAL FEMORAL FRACTURES AMONG THE ELDERLY.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The social and economic cost of proximal femoral fractures is high, due the morbidity and mortality relating to the fracture itself, among other factors. Despite the importance of this issue, studies on this topic are still scarce in Brazil. This was a retrospective, observational and cross-sectional (ecological) study with the aims of outlining an epidemiological profile for proximal femoral fractures among the elderly and analyzing the causes of these fractures and the physical characteristics of patients admitted to a single university hospital in São Paulo.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a study on medical records over a one-year period, with group comparisons using the chi-square test; p > 0.05 was considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-four individuals were evaluated: predominantly female (2:1); 81-85 years of age; body mass index within normal limits; white and Asian patients (p > 0.05). The vast majority of the fractures occurred through low-energy trauma and inside the patients' homes (p > 0.05). After excluding the trauma resulting from high-energy events, over 39% occurred as the patients were moving from sitting to standing up or were using stairs, and approximately 40% occurred while they were standing still or walking. A greater number of cases corresponded to the cold seasons of the year (p > 0.05);
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most injuries occurred inside the patients' own homes and had low-energy causes. Thus, some accidents might be avoided through simple low-cost measures that guide the elderly regarding situations of risk, which would bring major quality-of-life benefits and significant decreases in morbidity, mortality and the socioeconomic costs of this increasingly frequent problem.
authors.affiliation: Adjunct Professor of the Santa Casa de São Paulo; Vice Dean of the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Soares Hungria
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.affiliation: Sixth-year Medical Student of the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Caio Roncon
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Sixth-year Medical Student of the Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Daniel Bula
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: de Almeida
keywords: Aged; Epidemiology; Femoral Fractures