Risk factors for osteoporosis are common in young and middle-aged patients with femoral neck fractures regardless of trauma mechanism.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There have been few prospective studies examining young and middle-aged patients with hip fracture. We therefore investigated background data, risk factors, and the trauma mechanism in young and middle-aged patients with femoral neck fracture.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

185 patients, 27 young (20-49 years old) and 158 middle-aged (50-69 years old) were prospectively included in a multicenter study lasting 3 years. Background data and risk factors for osteoporosis and fracture were obtained, and the type of injury was classified as low-energy trauma, high-energy trauma, or sports injury.

RESULTS

In the young age group, the fracture occurred because of low-energy trauma in two-fifths of patients and because of sport injury in two-fifths of patients. The rest occurred because of high-energy trauma. The corresponding proportions for the middle-aged group were four-fifths, one tenth, and one tenth (p < 0.001). There was a higher proportion of men (19/27) in the young group than in the middle-aged group (69/158) (p = 0.001). One fifth of the young patients were smokers as compared to two-fifths in the middle-age group (p = 0.04). One quarter of the patients reported high-volume alcohol drinking, with no difference between the two groups. Furthermore, three-quarters of the young patients and four-fifths of the middle-aged patients had one or more risk factors for osteoporosis and fracture.

INTERPRETATION

A minority of patients in each age group had high-energy trauma as the cause of their femoral neck fracture. Lifestyle factors and other non-trauma-related risk factors appear to have been important contributors to the occurrence of femoral neck fracture in both age groups.